


was it love at first sight?

by achilleees, snack_size



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, M/M, Miscommunication, Recreational Drug Use, Roleplay Logs, Underage Drinking, unprotected sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-10
Updated: 2014-04-11
Packaged: 2018-01-15 05:28:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 155,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1293091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/achilleees/pseuds/achilleees, https://archiveofourown.org/users/snack_size/pseuds/snack_size
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Raleigh and Yancy have been counselors at Camp Cedar Hill for the past three summers and they have good idea of what to expect. Until Assistant Director Hansen's kid turns up to run kayaking.</p><p>alternate title: chuck hansen makes poor life choices.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Me and snack_size did a 157K camp counselor rp that we thought some people might want to read. It's a fucking novel. Read at your own risk. The fact that these are RP logs means the formatting is kind of annoying, so you have to accept that in order to read it.
> 
> Also! Part of it being a roleplay means that we're a little bit making up the characterization as we go along. So if you're like 'huh, that's weird. Chuck wasn't characterized this way before. This seems new' then you are probably right! And it became a new thing! Sorry bout that. Whoops. After a while their characters solidify, so. Keep on truckin', I guess.
> 
> Ages are adjusted for plot reasons.
> 
> There is so much sex. Just fyi. If that's not your thing.

Raleigh grinned when they approached the familiar turn to the parking lot at Cedar Hill Camp. The place had pretty much become home to he and Yancy - or, he looked forward to going back to camp just like everyone else at college looked forward to lounging around their own pool for the summer.

Then he looked at the clock. “Yancy, we’re gonna miss the boat at two-”

“We’re fine,” Yancy said, pulling the car in a wide arc to park next to a Jeep from Nebraska. “Grab your duffle and hustle.” Raleigh rolled his eyes. It wasn’t his lack of hustle that made them late.

They just made it to the boat, tossing their duffles into a pile along with about twenty others. Pentecost gave them a cool glare as he pulled the boat back from the dock.

“This sucks,” one guy said. “I can’t believe we’re going to have to on some island with the girls across the lake.” Raleigh shrugged and then glanced around at the rest of the counselors. He nodded at the Wei triplets, glad to see them back from last summer, and then stopped when he saw the kid sitting in the corner by himself.

He was tall, broad shouldered even though he was young, and his hair was sort of blondish red when the sun caught it.

Yancy elbowed him, hard, in the gut. “You know who that is, right?”

“Uh, should I?”

“Ginger, freckles, pale, sort of grumpy?”

“That’s Hansen’s kid?” Raleigh asked, and groaned when the kid looked over at him and narrowed his eyes in a determined smile. “He’s hot,” Raleigh whispered, and Yancy shook his head at him.

“Behave,” he whispered back.

 

One might have expected the son of Cedar Hill’s assistant director and staff supervisor to have actually, you know, _been_ to Cedar Hill before, but they would be wrong. Chuck had spent his summers in Australia with his grandparents when he was younger, and then away at the more hardcore wilderness training and survival programs when he was old enough. He’d trekked the wilds of Wyoming with only the pack on his back when he was 16, so coming to babysit children at this stupid little camp on this tiny little island was kind of a let-down for him. And he didn’t care what Herc said, leading the kayaking course wasn’t the same thing.

But, in all fairness, he _had_ been bitching to Herc about entering his freshman year of college without any spare cash, and Herc had been doing him a favor to offer him a job at the camp without needing to send in a formal resume or anything. So he tried to keep his complaints to a minimum - show his dad he’d grown up, and was going to school as a mature adult, or whatever.

Plus there was the fact that he got to spend the summer with Max, which, awesome. It sucked being away from him for that long, especially since he wasn’t allowed to take pets to college with him and he would only be able to see him on breaks for the next four years.

And there was spending quality time with Herc and all, of course, but mostly it was about Max.

That’s what he kept telling himself when he was slumped off to the side on this dinky little boat as the other counselors laughed and joked with each other, most of them friends from previous years. Even the new ones were joining in on the fun, but Chuck didn’t feel like it right now, too jetlagged to be up for the effort.

They probably wouldn’t want to be friends with him anyway. They’d think that he would tell Herc on them for any less-than-legal activities, or assume that he was some wussy little prick hiding under his daddy’s shadow, or just be generally turned off by his sarcasm and characteristic snark.

Like those two blonds over there. One of them kept eyeing him, and it looked they were whispering about him. How could they possibly have anything to say? They must have spotted the Hansen freckles and figured out who he was, or something. Thought he was some young kid who couldn’t bear to leave his father’s side for the summer.

He leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest, smiling at them with all his teeth, a predator’s smile. He wasn’t some sniveling little pussy. They’d find that out, soon enough.

 

 _Oh Christ,_ Yancy thought, when the Hansen kid grinned at them. _There is no way this is going to end well._ Fortunately, before things could escalate, Pentecost docked the boat and told all of them to report to the mess hall for their bunk assignments.

One of the benefits of being a returning counselor - and, apparently, the A.D.’s son - was getting to miss the first three days of mandatory training on the camp, safety, and not molesting children.

Tendo waved them over as soon as they got into the mess. The Weis joined them, doing the elaborate fist bump they’d concocted with Choi the summer before. One of the triplets - and, yes, Yancy was aware he should be able to tell them apart at this point - held his hand out to him. Yancy made a fist, hit some empty air, and wiggled his fingers.

“That was minimal effort, bro,” Raleigh said. He was still watching Hansen’s kid, who was sitting with Mako. Yancy was surprised to see her, since she should be at the girl’s camp orientation. Maybe she was just waiting for Stacker to take her back over.

“Right, then,” Herc Hansen said, walking to the center of the room with a clipboard. “Bunk assignments, and a welcome to our returning counselors. Wave, boys.” His grin was remarkably similar to the wolfish one his son had given them. Yancy did his best Queen Elizabeth wave in response.

“If I get Year 7 again I quit,” said Jin Wei. “Or same kids. Jake Sherman pissed himself every night. I will go home.” Yancy shrugged his shoulders. He was guaranteed the oldest kids his summer with their plush field trips as a reward for his four years of exemplary service.

The Weis each made one of those short, whispered “yes” sounds under their breath when the seven an  eight year old bunks were announced without them. “Becket - Rals - you’re in Sycamore,” Herc said. Raleigh grinned. Yancy had his suspicions for why he connected with that age.

The Weis drew the eleven year olds, which seemed fine with them. “Get to watch them on their first little socials,” Hu said.

“Choi, I’ve got you in Maple,” Herc said, and rattled off a few more names before he moved onto the next year 12 bunk. “Hansen, you’re in Birch.”

Yancy glanced over at Raleigh - usually it was protocol to put the younger counselors with the littler kids. No twelve year old would really listen to someone six years older. Benefits of being the A.D.’s son, apparently, you got out of dealing with homesickness, bed wetters, and brutal teddy bear murders.

“Becket, Yancy - you’re in Mount Marcy,” Hansen said, and Yancy nodded. “Now, everyone, pick up your stuff and move into your bunks. Then you’ll meet with your activity teams to go over summer programming.”

“It’s going to be a good summer,” Raleigh said.

“Provided you don’t get kicked out for sexually harassing the A.D.’s special little boy,” Yancy added. Raleigh rolled his eyes at him.

Yancy was going to have to watch him. The Hansen kid looked just his type, and if he was anything like his cocky bastard of his dad, he would be Raleigh’s archetype.

 

Yancy may have thought it was a privilege to get 12-year-olds, but Chuck grumbled under his breath and set his head down on the table when Herc announced his assignment. He knew why Herc had done it - had been told explicitly, in fact - that Chuck’s bedside manner wasn’t quite soft and cuddly enough to be taking care of young children. And maybe 12-year-olds didn’t normally listen to people six years their elder, but Chuck had a way of commanding attention, what with his not at all soft and cuddly bedside manner.

He only hoped he didn’t get in trouble for the inevitable cursing he was going to do. Summer in outdoor leadership schools and a life in Australia had not given him much training (or investment) in censoring himself.

Fact of the matter was, Chuck was going to have a lot of trouble not saying ‘fuck’ every other sentence. He’d already sworn to Herc never to use the word ‘cunt’ around the little bastards, which was pretty much the best he could do.

But fuck, 12-year-olds. Cocky assholes who thought they were the shit because their balls were just starting to drop, and because they were just figuring out what their dicks were for, and all. At least there were no girls in this camp. Hormones and puberty were bad enough without ridiculous posturing to make everything even worse.

He picked up his head. “Children,” he said with a tone of utmost loathing. “I bloody hate children.”

“Camp counselor might not have been the ideal career choice for you, I think,” Mako said thoughtfully.

He pinched her side. “Shut up.” He turned and glanced over his shoulder, whipping his head back around with an even more pronounced scowl. “What the hell is his problem?”

She turned. “Who?”

“That blond seppo who keeps looking at me,” he said, glaring at the far wall. He made a conscious effort not to look back.

“Oh, Raleigh?” She made eye contact with Raleigh and smiled. “He is a nice boy. How did you already manage to get on his bad side?”

“I didn’t do anything!” he said, voice strident with indignance. “He just -”

She laughed. “In that case…”

He squinted at her suspiciously. “No,” he said. “Don’t do this to me. Don’t make this weird.”

“I didn’t say anything,” she said in that annoyingly placid way of hers.

“But now I’m thinking about it.” He pinched her again. “Life ruiner.”

“And I’m sure thinking about _that_ is such a hardship for you.”

“Shut up,” he said again.

Thankfully, that was when Herc dismissed them, and he gathered his shit and went to go find his bunk. About halfway there (directed by Mako, as he still had no idea where anything was) he veered off course and followed Herc to his own cabin to grab Max before continuing on his way to his assigned bunk.

He was about ten steps from the door of his cabin when Max spotted something in the distance and bounded off, barking. Chuck cursed and dropped his shit at the door before following after. He turned around the side of the cabin and stopped dead, almost stumbling over his own feet.

Max had found a friend, apparently.

Bloody septic.

 

“Aw, hey, Max!” Raleigh said, and he kneeled down so he could scratch the bulldog properly behind his ears. “Missed you, little buddy.”

“Oi, Max!” Raleigh looked up and smiled slightly when he saw Hansen, arms crossed over his broad chest. “Don’t go running off like that.”

“Well, we do know each other,” Raleigh replied, standing and offering his hand. “Raleigh Becket.”

“Yeah,” he said. His handshake was one of those overly firm ones - _so we’re going to have a dick measuring contest?_ Raleigh thought, and it just made him grin. He would definitely compare dicks with the kid. “Chuck.”

“Great to meet you,” Raleigh said. “What’s your activity?”

Apparently no one had ever told the kid not to scowl like that or his face would stick that way. “I’m running tripping,” he said. “And doing kayaking.”

“You’re brave,” Raleigh said. They’d asked him to do tripping last year - and, while Raleigh really liked the kids at Cedar Hills, they weren’t enthusiastic about being taken into the woods on camping and portage trips into the Adirondack wilderness.

“Yeah, this is right back country,” Chuck said.

“Well,” Raleigh said, and he leaned down again to scrunch at Max’s ears, “I’ll be seeing you around - I’m at swim, so.” He nodded his head and then turned and headed towards his bunk.

 _Prickly little bastard,_ Raleigh thought, and he could hear Yancy in his head, admonishing him for being attracted to someone like that.

 _You can’t fuck someone nice for a change?_ he demanded. Raleigh had shrugged.

 _You love who you love, man,_ he said.

 

* * *

 

The night before the kids came they had a night off and a social with the counselors over at girls camp. The meal was nice, there were speeches telling all of them about the satisfaction they could get from working with children, and then they were given leave until midnight.

“Fuck, I need a drink,” Yancy said. “We’ll get the beer and you get the bonfire going, Tendo?”

Cedar Hills had long ago recognized that their counselors - especially the underage ones - were going to drink and socialize on their nights off. Not to mention that there was no where in the local town, just the convenient convenience store and gas station. So walking distance down from the parking lot was a bonfire site where most of the counselors gathered.

The Weis had the music going by the time he and Raleigh returned with a substantial amount of beer. Yancy immediately cracked his open and then moved, with Raleigh, in towards the bonfire.

“Denmark has her eye on you,” Tendo said, and nodded his head towards one of the girl’s sailing instructors. “Not a bad start.”

“I, unlike you, am not lining up all my fucks for this summer,” Yancy replied.

“So I can have her?” Tendo asked.

“No,” Yancy said, and before Tendo could say it, added, “Dibs.” He rolled his eyes - it was starting, before the kids even got her. You couldn’t avoid the regression, working at a summer camp.

“Looks like Rals has picked out his target for the summer,” Tendo said. “He’s a brave man.” Yancy inhaled and sighed before he followed Raleigh’s gaze to Chuck Hansen. He was lurking at the edge of the bonfire with Mako, drinking a beer and looking like he was already over the entire thing. “Oh, man, he’s headed over.”

“He’ll last two minutes,” Yancy said.

“I’m willing to give the kid three,” Tendo replied.

Yancy was glad he couldn’t see Raleigh’s face as he talked with Hansen. Wasn’t like it mattered. He knew the dopey, eager expression Raleigh got when he tried to flirt. Instead, he watched the scowl deeper on Hansen’s face and Mako’s expression sort of twist as she watched the whole thing unfold.

“Oh, Rals,” Tendo said. He looked down at his watch as Raleigh walked back over. “Two and a half. Huh.”

Raleigh, inexplicably, still had that grin on his face.

“Mako says Denmark’s name is Alona,” Raleigh said. “You are welcome.”

“I am not-”

“He called dibs,” Tendo said.

Raleigh laughed and went to the car for another beer.

 

“See?” Chuck said to Mako as Raleigh walked away. “He’s clearly not into…”

“No,” she said. “That was not for his benefit.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“His brother,” she said, nodding across the circle at the blond brothers. “Yancy.”

Chuck looked at them, now immersed in conversation. “You don’t know that.”

“I know them,” she said. “But, why so invested, hm?”

He glared and walked away without responding. No matter what he said, Mako would have twisted it around with her warped delusions and made it all about him being ‘so invested’ in whether Becket, Raleigh was interested in him.

Which, well - he had eyes, and Becket was - _well_. But that didn’t mean anything. He wasn’t going to pursue some grand, romantic summer romance with some swaggering American tosser, no matter how good he looked under the flickering firelight. 

With that thought in the back of his head, Chuck went to go flirt outrageously with one of the lifeguards from the girls’ camp, just to make a point to Mako about how completely wrong she was, always.

It went well, but his heart wasn’t really in it, and he gladly took the opportunity when his beer was empty to escape from the conversation. He made his way to the cooler to grab another one.

 

“Oh, hi, Chuck,” Raleigh said. “Again.”

“Uh-huh,” Chuck said, and grabbed a beer from the cooler.

“Looks like you’ve got everything set up at tripping,” Raleigh said. Everyone was sizing each other up, trying to determine who they were going to try and get days and nights off with. Raleigh wasn’t fussed - as long as he had Yancy with him, and access to his car. When Chuck didn’t respond, he added, “I, uh, sometimes assist on the trips. As a lifeguard.”

 

Chuck shrugged one shoulder. “Well, I know CPR, so…” He didn’t finish the sentence, but he felt it was fairly obvious what words he was leaving unsaid. _So I don’t need help, thanks_.

 

“Right, uh, but I guess they require a life guard on some things,” said Raleigh. “Like the white water stuff. If you’re going to be doing that.” He rubbed at the back of his neck, suddenly feeling stupid.

 

Chuck restrained himself from rolling his eyes, but barely. Overprotective safety precautions, what a load of shit. These parents should try sending their kids into the Australian Outback with nothing but a bowie knife and a canteen, teach them to man up a little.

“Okay,” he said. “Great. Should be a real thrill.”

 

Raleigh decided to just go for it. Worse came to worse, he could blame the beer. So he widened his eyes into the expression Yancy always made fun of him for - he wouldn’t hear any argument about Raleigh’s success rates with it. He grinned at Chuck. “It could be,” said, and then took a long sip of his beer.

 

Chuck, who had been looking around the campfire at the other counselors around, shot him a wary sidelong glance. “Yep,” he said. “S’what I just said. So, uh, looking forward to it. I’m sure we’ll have a grand old time keeping kids from drowning together.” He took a small step back, assuming that the conversation was over.

 

Raleigh furrowed his brow - two options, then. Not gay, or not into him. A disappointing start to the summer. He opened his mouth to say something else, to try and salvage the encounter, but then Chuck took another two steps back from him.

“There you are,” Yancy said, the consummate big brother, and he slung his arm around Raleigh’s shoulder. “Who’s your new friend?”

“Yancy, this is Chuck,” Raleigh said, making sure not to say Hansen. “Chuck, this is my older brother Yancy.”

 

“So Mako said.” Chuck looked over his shoulder, kind of wishing he had just stayed in that conversation with Mako, awkwardness be damned. He felt a little out of his element here. “Been here for awhile, right?”

That information had come from Herc, who had mentioned them before. But Chuck wasn’t about to bring up his father.

 

“It’s my fourth summer,” Yancy said. “Raleigh is on his third.”

“Yancy runs the arts and crafts shack,” Raleigh said.

“You have any boondaggle needs, Chuck, you know where to come,” Yancy said, and then he tightened his grip on Raleigh. “C’mon, we’re gonna try and get into the Wei’s car and turn some real music on. Need you for look out.”

“Oh,” Raleigh said, and he glanced back at Chuck. “Sure. Um. See you around?”

 

“Yep,” Chuck agreed, saluting him with his beer. “I’ll be the bloke in the kayak.”

 _Noo, don’t flirt with the American_ , he thought, a second too late.

 

“Right,” Raleigh said. “I have a lifeguard whistle.” He was about to say something else, but Yancy began to drag him away. “Hey!” he said, once Chuck was out of earshot.

“Rals, I may not be a lifeguard,” Yancy said. “But I know a drowning victim when I see one.” 

“I was - I was...fine,” Raleigh said.

“That was painful to watch,” Tendo said. “And so is this dub step. It needs to be remedied. Go and steal Hu’s sunglasses or something, Rals.”

Raleigh sighed, then reminded himself that Chuck had just blankly stared at him when he had unleashed his best flirtation face. Yancy was probably right. _No need to mope about it,_ he thought, headed towards the Weis, who were flirting with some of the South African girls. _The little monsters arrive tomorrow - better make tonight count._

“You gonna introduce me to your friends?” he asked, sliding in between Jin and Hu. The girls all smiled at him and he smiled back. “I don’t think we’ve met yet.”

 

* * *

 

Chuck sat on the step to his cabin, eating Skittles and tossing a tennis ball for Max. His campers were due in the next few minutes, and he was feeling a strange mixture of nervousness and apathy about it. On the one hand, he didn’t want to fuck this up. But on the other hand, how much did he care, really?

He poured out another handful of Skittles and ate them slowly, licking his palm afterward to get off the sticky candy coating that had melted onto it.

Children, he thought. I hate children.

The buses started to arrive then, with children pouring out in packs. Stacker and Herc herded them towards their bunks, calling the bunk names over the din and pointing them in the right direction. Chuck straightened when he saw a handful of kids coming his way, and whistled for Max to come over from where he was panting and rolling on the grass a few meters away.

“Hey,” he said when the kids got close enough. “Name’s Chuck, looks like I’ll be looking after you for the next however many weeks. Don’t be too annoying, and we won’t have problems. Any questions?”

One of the boys raised his hand. “Are you even old enough to work here?” he asked, and the other boys laughed.

Chuck pinned him with a glare. “That’s your first strike. You get to three, I get creative.”

“But you can’t actually hurt us, right?” said one boy, looking nervous.

“Thus the _creative_ part,” Chuck drawled. “Can’t promise I won’t tip you off a kayak mid-rapids or get you lost in the woods, I’m sayin’.” He waited a beat. “That was a joke, if anyone asks.”

Chuck always believed in ruling through fear rather than friendship.

 

* * *

 

Raleigh peered down at the five children he would be spending the summer with. He recognized a few of them, but he had two new boys - probably the ones who looked like they were about five seconds from throwing up. “Hey, I’m Raleigh,” he said. “We’re gonna be hanging out this summer and having lots of fun. You want to see your bunk?”

The kids all nodded, and Raleigh opened the bunk door for them. He’d done his best to make things as inviting as possible, including putting the kids stuffed animals right in the center of their beds. “Now, there’s a couple of rules we have to go over-” The kids all groaned, and Raleigh waved his hand. “I know, I know, but. Can’t have any candy in the bunks.” He watched them, noting the looks on their faces - no better way to figure out who the hoarders in the groups were. “It attracts animals, and you don’t want to wake up with a raccoon on your head. Plus, I’m closest to the door, meaning I’m most likely to get eaten by a bear.”

“Bear?” asked one of the nervous ones.

“We had a bear last summer,” said one of the returners. “It got stuck in the window of the dining hall, they had to shoot it in the butt and then they took it away.”

“Let me tell you about bears,” Raleigh said, and he reached and grabbed the stuffed black bear that Yancy had bought him last year. “You see this guy? He’s a black bear, and…”

 

* * *

 

Yancy sat on the porch while his kids got themselves set up inside. They were fourteen and all of them had been coming here since they were eight. It kind of made him a little sick to his stomach - eleven thousand, times six years, that was close to tuition for him and Raleigh for the year. He shook his head. _Lifestyles of the rich and famous._

“Hey Yancy.” He looked up and saw one of his kids from last year, Taylor. Quiet kid, spent a lot of time with him in arts and crafts. Definite talent there, though, and Yancy had done his best with him. He hoped Taylor had wanted to come back instead of being forced by his parents so they could spend their summer unhindered at the country club.

“Hey, kiddo,” he said. “You should be settling into your bunk.”

“Yeah,” said Taylor. “Um.”

“Who’s your counselor?” Yancy asked.

“Some Chuck guy,” said Taylor. “He said if we get three strikes, he’ll get _creative_ in the way he deals with us.”

Yancy resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Number one mistake new counselors made - ruling through fear rather than friendship. “You’ll just have to stay on his good side, then,” he said. Chuck would be tied to the rafters in no time if that was how he was going to go about things. “Besides, you’re lucky. You’ll probably have Max around all summer.” 

“Yeah,” said Taylor, brightening a little. “Max is pretty cool.”

 

* * *

 

Chuck got bored waiting for the older kids to show up for their session and paddled into the water, messing around a little to get a feel for the size and shape of the canoe. He’d already done a course with some of the younger ones, but that was primarily dominated by instructions on how to put on the life-vest, and he hadn’t had much time to do any actual kayaking.

He had 20 minutes until the session started, and he had taken off his life-vest to keep it from getting in the way, the sleeves of his stretchy black Underarmor shirt rolled up to the elbow. He paddled in a loose circle, then tipped the kayak over and held himself underwater for a minute before executing a quick Eskimo roll to swing back up into the air.

He frowned. The boat was heavy at the stem and stern, and wasn’t sleek enough for any real maneuverability. Built more for safety than speed, damn.

Testing, he tipped back and did a few cartwheels, scowling when he came back to a rest. Like he’d thought, too heavy. And the bow was too long, not blunted enough. Damn.

He took another few minutes to explore the kayak. As he did another lazy loop, he caught sight of the dock, and the shirtless blond on it.

Suddenly, his impression of Raleigh changed. Maybe he should put more effort into exploring Mako’s theory on Raleigh’s hypothetical interest in him.

Chuck ran a hand through his hair, tousling it up a little, and pulled on the sunglasses that he had tucked into a hidden panel in the kayak. Then he paddled over to the dock. “How ya goin’, mate?” he said, laying on the Australian accent a little thick.

For some reason, Americans went crazy for the Australian accent.

 

“Oh,” Raleigh said, and he tried to act like he hadn’t been watching the little show Chuck had been putting on with the kayak. “All right.” He turned his head, slightly, trying to figure out why Chuck was trying to channel Steve Irwin. “Um, I don’t know if there is much wildlife of interest in the lake.” 

He twisted his hand around his whistle and smiled at Chuck.

 

Chuck blinked at him. “...Thanks?” he tried, having literally zero idea what Raleigh was talking about. “I’m, uh, more of an architecture person, but - cool, I guess?”

 

“Uh,” Raleigh said. He had been pretty sure Chuck had sort of tousled his hair before he had paddled over, but now he wasn’t sure. And the smile had seemed genuine enough, but - _fuck, this kid,_ Raleigh thought. “Riight, well, at least you know what to do with the kayak. Last summer was a disaster - kid they hired didn’t know the difference between a canoe and a kayak. I actually had to pull him out of the lake once.” He nodded.

 

Chuck wasn’t the smoothest flirter around, but he wasn’t normally this bad. He absently wondered if it was Raleigh or himself that was making this such a shitshow.

“Yeah nah,” he said, letting the kayak drift a bit closer to the dock. “I’ve done a fair bit of kayaking. More of a rock climber though. Less risk of crocodile attack that way.”

 

There we go, Raleigh thought. Hopefully. He wished he knew if they were having a conversation or...something else. He usually could tell - he wasn’t a big fan of the term, but he usually had pretty good gaydar.

“Yeah, um. So you don’t wrestle them in your free time?” Raleigh asked.

 

“Only once or twice,” Chuck drawled. “You think you’ve got ‘em locked down, arm around the muzzle or whatever, and then _wham_ , death roll, get you all shook up under the water so they can eat you.”

This was terrible conversation for flirtation, he realized. If he were a smoother man, he might be able to spin it in the right direction, but that wasn’t Chuck’s style. So he just shrugged. “Australia’s awesome, guess is what I’m sayin’.”

 

“Right,” Raleigh said. He glanced down at Chuck and wished he didn’t have the damn sunglasses on so he could get a look at his eyes. That might help. “Pretty sure everything in Australia wants to kill you.”

He ran a hand through his hair and then turned when he heard the sound of a whistle - the new batch of kids was starting to pour down to the waterfront, it seemed. Twenty minutes between activities passed quickly. “Right, well, I’ve got swim lessons, looks like,” he said. “Good luck with the Year 14’s - they’re, um. Well.” He winced, slightly. Yancy had asked for them, but it was only so that he could go on all of the expensive field trips that they went on.

 

Chuck looked back over his shoulder at the kayaks lined up on the shore. He didn’t seem very anxious, which was interesting, considering his prior apprehension. But that wasn’t Chuck’s element, the cabin. This was. Outdoor leadership programs were about 50% of his teenage years, so teaching a bunch of 14-year-olds how to kayak? Easy shit.

And if they didn’t behave, he’d send ‘em up on land and they could watch. That’s all there was to it.

“Awright, Ray,” he said, grinning at Raleigh. “S’been fun. I’ll see you around - keep an eye out for you and your whistle, and all.” If he hadn’t been wearing sunglasses, he might have winked, which is why it was a good thing he was wearing sunglasses.

 

 _Whistle?_ Raleigh thought - _what does that have to do with anything?_ Then he remembered the stupid comment he had made the night before, about how he would be on the dock and have a whistle.

As he walked away, he admonished himself for his complete incompetence. It would be better if he knew what the kid was up to, of course - and how was it that he wanted nothing to with Raleigh last night but was perfectly friendly this morning?

Raleigh shoved his hands into the pockets of his shorts as he walked back over to where the kids were gathering around the Adirondack chairs on the lake shore. “That seemed to go a bit better, little Becket,” Tendo said, walking up alongside of him and twirling his own whistle in his hand. “Though kid’s a bit of a pussy, wearing under armor in the lake.”

“He’s from Australia,” said Raleigh. Maybe he needed to get out of the sun? He seemed afflicted with stupid. To finish it off, he added, “it’s warmer there?”

“Whatever,” said Tendo. “I’m a bit disappointed, but only because I bet Cheung a case of beer at closing night that there was no way you would tap that by the end of the summer.”

“What?” Raleigh said.

“Cheung figured you might have a shot if the prick got drunk enough, so,” Tendo said.

“He thinks I would take advantage of him?” Raleigh asked. Then he shook his head. _Don’t even,_ he told himself. “It doesn’t make any sense, anyway. He couldn’t wait to get rid of me last night, now he kayaks right over-”

“I wonder, Raleigh, what the key difference is? Anything you can think of?” Tendo asked.

“Not really,” Raleigh said.

“Such a dumb ass,” Tendo said, and he flicked his whistle right into Raleigh’s stomach.

“Ow.”

“That did not hurt,” Tendo said.

Raleigh looked down at his stomach. “My stomach?”

“You are as dense as Yancy says you are,” Tendo replied, and he walked away from Raleigh as he considered his belly button.

 

* * *

 

Yancy sighed as he slung his backpack over his shoulders. The first week had been largely uneventful - probably because his kids hadn’t had a social with the girls side yet - but he was ready for their first day off. “We got plans, Becket Boys?” Tendo asked, meeting them at the dirt path down towards their launch to freedom.

“I’m not in mood for some big trip,” Yancy said.

“Sucks the Weis didn’t get the same day off,” Raleigh said. Yancy nodded - he liked the triplets, but they could be a bit of a pain in the ass. Or, more accurate, they were bad influences. It was how he wound up nearly dying last summer free diving off some cliff they had found. _Watch for the rocks!_ they yelled, after he nearly hit the rocks. What they failed to mention were the black widow spiders and how their bites ate your flesh.

“Hotel room, booze...you know what girls are off?” Tendo asked. “Alona? The lady life guards - oh.”

Yancy followed Tendo’s gaze. Chuck Hansen was sulking at the launch while his father walked away with his dog. Usually people got their days off with their friends at camp - but then, he hadn’t really seen Chuck with anyone other than his campers.

Tendo nudged him, and Yancy inhaled. “Hey, Hansen,” he said.

 

Chuck looked up, eyes going a bit wide as if surprised to find them there. Evidently he’d been so distracted watching his dog leave he hadn’t noticed their approach. 

“Um, hey,” he said, hands in his pockets, rocking back on his heels a little. “How ya doin’?”

 

“You got plans?” Yancy asked. They had he and Tendo’s car between them, so there would be more than enough room for Chuck, even with the girls that Tendo would invariably get to come along with them.

 

“I was gonna…” Chuck gestured back to his bunk, then trailed off. He hesitated for a minute. “Yeah nah, not really.”

 

“Cool,” said Yancy. “We don’t either, but we have room in our...cars.” Tendo sighed - probably related to the stupid bet he made with Cheung. Like Yancy was supposed to help facilitate that. “If you want?”

 

Chuck looked to Raleigh for just a moment before returning his gaze to Yancy. “Sure, if you’re offering. Do I have time to grab some of my shit, or…?”

 

Yancy looked over to Aleksis Kaidanovsky, who was leaning against the steering column of the boat. When he gave the nod, Yancy smiled. “Yeah, sure. Go ahead.”

  

Chuck turned to leave, but paused for one last question. “Uh, how long am I packing for? And what kind of shenanigans should I expect? I’ve heard stories about you three - am I gonna need my passport? An artificial defibrillator? Three hundred bucks to bail one of you out of jail?”

“We only get one night,” Raleigh said.

“No plans for Canada this time,” Yancy added.

“What do you have your own defibrillator for?” Tendo asked.

 

“Mate, my father is _Herc Hansen_ ,” Chuck said. “If you don’t think we had a defibrillator in the back of our Jeep, you don’t know him very well.” He didn’t explain that cryptic statement before jogging back to his cabin to grab a bag, returning only a few minutes later with a backpack slung over his shoulder.

 

Yancy watched Chuck as they took the short ride over to the dock at the girl’s camp. Despite the invitation, he had sat at the edge of the boat, looking back towards the island.

Which was fine, because it gave Raleigh the opportunity to sort of openly ogle him - though it was with one of his confused expressions. _Great,_ Yancy thought, _he broke Raleigh._ His younger brother was usually pretty good with these kinds of things, much as Yancy would never admit it to his face. Sure, he usually tended to pick douche bags, but he successfully picked up douche bags and even managed to date some of them for a period of months.

Not that he had any idea if Chuck was interested in Raleigh - he missed a lot of the camp bullshit, up in the arts and crafts shack. It was why he had taken the assignment when offered. He had the fourteen year-olds to fill him in at everything that happened over dinner, anyway.

When they pulled towards the dock he watched as Tendo assessed the small group of girls who were waiting there.

“Aw, great, Mako got the same day!” Raleigh said, turning his attention from Chuck. “I told her to ask for it.”

“Excellent,” said Tendo. “Hopefully she’s managed to make some friends this time.” 

Yancy shook his head and got off of the boat first. It took a few moments, but groups quickly formed and people made plans. “You mind taking the ladies, Tendo?” he asked. “Chuck and Raleigh can come with me and we can put everyone’s shit in our car, too.”

“Sure, yeah,” Tendo said. “So we’re just going to head into Schooner Lake, get a hotel room, get some dinner?”

Yancy nodded and then walked towards the car. Raleigh trotted right behind him, but when he turned, he saw Chuck was just standing at the dock.

 

It wasn’t his intention to be weird and awkward about this, it’s just, Mako was pretty much the only friend he had here, and the way Yancy had divided up the groups left them separated. And even if Raleigh was flirting with him (which Chuck still wasn’t sure about), and Chuck was kind of flirting back (poorly), he wanted Mako to be there with him, poking fun at their lame attempts and acting as a calming influence on his nerves - partially by being so smug and superior that he got angry instead of nervous, but still.

But he didn’t want to make a big thing of it, so he reluctantly tore his gaze from Tendo’s group and trudged over to Yancy and Raleigh. It occurred to him that Yancy might have split up the groups this way on purpose, which had the dual effect of increasing his nerves and giving him a sense of smug satisfaction. Of course, it was equally possible that Yancy just felt sorry for his lonely ass and thought it was his big brotherly responsibility to take the poor little Aussie under his wing, which was completely unnecessary and a little insulting.

In short, Chuck was conflicted.

He pulled a book out of his backpack before tossing it in the back of their car, finding the dog-eared page before gesturing to the car with his free hand. “Right, we off then?”

 

“Oh, no,” Mako protested, when they got to the parking lot. “Not in that car.”

“It is perfectly fine-” Tendo began. Mako shook her head and then quietly walked over to where Raleigh and Chuck were standing.

“It sort of...the engine started on fire last year,” Raleigh said, softly, so that the other girls getting into the car weren’t dissuaded. “I’m sure he fixed it, Mako.” She just shook her head and climbed into the backseat.

 _Nice cock blocking, Mori,_ Yancy thought, as Raleigh took the passenger seat and Chuck got in next to Mako. Chuck looked relieved, though, and he had jammed the book back into his backpack, so Yancy was willing to count this as a victory.

 

Chuck shot Mako a small smile, unsure if she had done it for his benefit or if she were actually worried about her own safety, but grateful either way.

He nudged her. “Alex texted me,” he said.

She raised her eyebrows. “Tell me you did not…”

“Nah, that’s over, I swear.” He rolled his shoulders. “Not looking to go to school with any baggage on my record. Besides, long-distance between Sydney and bloody Massachusetts? ‘m not that masochistic.”

 

“Where are you going to college?” Yancy asked, pulling the car out of the parking lot.

 

“MIT, full ride,” said Chuck, not exactly smirking but not totally stone-faced either. He got underestimated a lot, being that most of his leisure time was spent either snowboarding or rock climbing or water-skiing. People tended to assume he was just another dumb jock who couldn’t tell fission from fusion, and he liked to disabuse them of the notion.

Of course, he was there for architecture, but - He was taking plenty of math classes in the process, so the point stood.

Mako rolled her eyes. Full ride because he was there on a soccer scholarship, but she didn’t say anything about that.

 

 _Little shit,_ Yancy thought. Who tells people he has a full ride? Yancy was pretty sure he had never mentioned it once - fuck, he usually just told people he went to school in Massachussetts. Maybe that was because he and Raleigh were there on full rides because of lack of parents and gross financial need, though.

“Oh, that’s cool,” Raleigh said, nodding. Yancy elbowed him, content that Chuck couldn’t see it. He wanted to drag this out a little bit.

Raleigh didn’t get the clue, though. “Yance and I are at Amherst, actually,” he said, and turned around and probably gave Chuck one of those sunbeams and sparkles smile of his.

 

 _Little shits_ , Chuck thought. He hadn’t gotten into Amherst. Or, he had, but only after being deferred, and without any sort of scholarship, which was a little out of their price range. Even all of those programs every summer hadn’t added up to four years at a private liberal arts college.

“Yeah, I thought about there, but the architecture program is so -” He made a gesture that could have meant many things.

Mako, for the good of everyone there, cut in. It was probably too late to salvage the situation, she thought, but for Chuck’s benefit, she would try. “I sometimes wish I went to a Boston school, but the city is so small, you know? Not like a real city.”

Her version of helping.

Chuck shot her a glare. “It’s a -” 

“Yes, but not really,” she said.

He pouted.

 

“Better than Amherst,” Yancy said, genially. In his head, he couldn’t help but think _Beckets: 1, Hansen: 0._ Not that this was a competition. “Although we do get buses of women on Friday nights from two different girls schools. Raleigh really likes that, don’t you, Rals?”

“Uh,” said Raleigh. “Not really? They usually just get drunk and…” He shook his head.

Yancy just about face planted into the steering wheel. He had been trying to help, and, as usual, it went straight over Raleigh’s head.

 

Chuck squinted suspiciously at Yancy, not really sure what he was trying to do. He had invited Chuck to join, and then to ride in their car - but then bragging about Raleigh’s aptitude with women? Very strange. It made the situation all the more confusing for him, and he didn’t like that.

Too bad it was socially frowned upon to ask people straight-up if they liked the cock. It would make the dating world an easier place for Chuck.

“I don’t think I’ll have much trouble finding women to root in Boston,” he said slowly. “Because it’s a real city, and all.” He elbowed Mako as he delivered this pointed statement.

She shrugged.

 

 _They deserve each other,_ Yancy thought. If Chuck did, in fact, like guys. Though they were both so dense that they might just cancel one another out. Yancy wished he knew more chemistry so that he could make a better analogy.

“Root?” Yancy asked. “What, you take cuttings and hope you’re going to grow yourself a girlfriend?”

 

“Blimey, mate, bloody septic thinks I’m takin’ a furphy, actin’ all bungers. Right up himself, some figjam, he is,” Chuck said, settling back and drumming his fingers over his thigh. Anytime anyone made fun of his accent or called him out on his use of Australian slang, that was his ingrained response - because they seemed to be asking so nicely for it, and all.

And Raleigh had thought he sounded like Steve Irwin before.

 

Yancy had to turn and look at Chuck. He supposed the kid had a point, though - not nice to make fun of someone because they come from a different country, and all. Not that he was going to admit to it.

Thankfully, Raleigh dispersed any and all tension - bless him. “That would be convenient, though,” he mused. “I think I’ve gone through just about every gay guy in a ten mile radius…” He blinked, considering it, and then nodded his head.

 

Well, that answered that question.

Mako turned and shot Chuck a look, one that very clearly said ‘ _see_ ’ and told him that he was an idiot for doubting her.

Meanwhile, Chuck was stuck on something else. If Raleigh were that much of a player, he’d probably be pretty good at flirting too. And if Raleigh were good at flirting, then whatever he was doing with Chuck definitely wasn’t it. Which, QED, meant that he wasn’t trying to pull Chuck - and that was a little insulting, if he wasn’t good enough for a guy who’d fucked every other bloke in a 10-mile radius.

He crossed his arms. “Ten miles? That’s pretty impressive, mate.”

Mako winced.

 

“And you managed to land how many?” Yancy asked, because he saw Chuck’s expression. “Two? Three?”

“Um,” Raleigh said, and he actually counted on his hand. “Five, Yancy, actually. I’m not that much of a…”

“That is not a very good success rate,” Mako said.

“Uh,” Raleigh said, suddenly realizing the hole he had dug himself. “Well, some I just didn’t click with, you know? And then there were, uh, some rejections, and then...I mean, time was a problem, too, I spend a lot of time at practice and swim meets and man, we could use some music, don’t you think? Yancy?”

“My phone,” Yancy said, and shook his head. He was fairly certain Raleigh might have been dropped on his head as a child.

 

Brightening considerably, Chuck offered up his own phone to Raleigh. “I’ve got a road trip playlist on there already from last year’s cross-country adventure.”

“Disaster,” Mako corrected.

“Adventure,” he repeated. “It’s a lot of indie crap, but it’s good, if you like, like, Rilo Kiley and Gatsbys American Dream and Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros.”

 

“Right, OK,” Yancy said. “Raleigh?”

Raleigh reached back and took the phone from Chuck’s hand. Yancy did his best to keep his eyes on the road and to watch the interaction between them - the slight brush of their hands, the way Raleigh held on for just a second longer than necessary. 

Then Raleigh had the phone in his hand and looked down as he plugged it into the car’s stereo system. A smile spread across his face and he tilted the phone towards Yancy. The background was Max with a shark costume on. His head was in the shark’s mouth and he looked incredibly unhappy with the arrangement.

The stuff on the playlist wasn’t exactly Yancy’s style, but he wasn’t going to argue with Chuck, who clearly was one of those people who prided himself on his indie cred. They drove, largely in silence, for the next twenty minutes until they got into Schooner Lake.

“We’re going to the Motor Lodge, right?” Raleigh asked, turning the music down slightly.

“But of course,” Yancy said. “Only place where they’ll look the other way to the eight people we’re going to jam into a hotel room and the inevitable skinny dipping. You want to be in charge of booze while Tendo gets the room?”

Raleigh turned back to Chuck and Mako. “You guys have any preference?”

 

Chuck was a little stuck on ‘skinny dipping,’ so Mako had to answer for both of them. “Any kind of scotch for Chuck, and I have no preference.”

Chuck snickered. “Yeah, when you get drunk off half a shot, I guess it doesn’t really matter what type of grog you’re drinking.”

She blushed and shoved him, and he grinned with his dimples and reeled her in to give her a quick noogie, ruffling her hair with his knuckles.

 

Raleigh frowned, slightly, and it took Yancy a moment - Chuck had mentioned rooting in women, after all. And maybe that was his plan.

It would probably a little bit of scotch to figure that out. “You’re old enough to drink Scotch?” he asked, as Raleigh took the ten dollars that Mako handed him.

 

“Drinking age in Oz is 18,” Chuck said. “So, yes, in the countries of the world where the laws aren’t stupid as hell.” As far as he knew, it was only the US that had such an insanely high drinking age, because they were neurotic freakjobs who didn’t want their teenagers to have any fun.

 

“Riight,” Raleigh said. “Well, we’d prefer it the other way, trust me. I’m gonna have to go by myself, though, just in case there’s any state police around. Sorry to have to kick you out.” His smile was legitimately apologetic, and Yancy felt that familiar brotherly tug for the kid.

He never would have survived in the wild without Yancy.

Raleigh drove off, leaving Yancy with Chuck and Mako at the little lakeside park next to the parking lot. “Tendo should be by once he gets the rooms,” Yancy said, and then he gestured towards the grass.

He sat down and stretched from the drive and took the opportunity to get a good look at Chuck Hansen. He was good looking, Yancy figured - he was not one of those straight guys who wouldn’t admit another male was attractive - and the ginger thing was definitely different. Pretty fit for his age, too, but there was a slight awkwardness in his posture - and the fact that his phone background was his dog in a shark suit - that made Yancy wonder what existed under the layers of sarcasm and dickheadedness he’d coated himself in.

Mako plopped down next to him. “I would like to have a relaxing day off,” she said.

“Then you should have gone with the other group,” Yancy said. “You were around all last year, Mako, you know what might happen.”

 

She pursed her lips as she looked at Chuck, who was sitting a little apart from them, lying on his stomach on the grass reading his book. “I could have told you this would be difficult. I could have told him, too. Chuck is…” She fumbled for words, and landed on, “Difficult.”

And Raleigh was sweet, and this _could_ end well, technically, but it didn’t seem especially likely to her. Chuck turned into such an asshole when he felt vulnerable or off-kilter, which did bad things for his chances at romance, considering he always felt vulnerable and off-kilter when people flirted with him unexpectedly. It was a sad, pathetic paradox for him.

She shook her head and called to Chuck, “You know that book isn’t actually about a dog, right?”

Chuck raised his hand and flipped her off without looking up. He turned another page.

 

Tendo’s car rolled in, then, and he had deposited the rest of his passengers at the hotel. “Uh-oh, Mako,” he said. “Looks like you’re going to have to walk.”

“I will grudgingly ride in there for a short distance,” Mako said. She met Tendo’s eye as she took the passenger seat. “Please tell me we will go to the Inn for dinner.”

“Been dreaming of those mashed potato waffles all winter, then?” Yancy asked.

Mako nodded. “They are delicious,” she said, as they drove out of the parking lot.

“For you, Mako,” Tendo said. “We can. Hell, it’s our first day off. No need to eat at the hot dog stand.”

“I have been serving food to children all week,” Mako said, with a curl of disdain to her lip. “I would like someone to serve food to me.”

Raleigh was at the hotel when they pulled into the back parking lot near the lake, surrounded by the girls. “Yancy,” he said. “Have you met everyone?”

Yancy nodded at Alona - and she looked better, in the actual daylight - and then held his hand out to her two friends, one English girl, Imogene, and an older counselor from Russia, Sasha. “Have you met Aleksis?” he asked her. “He does the water ski program. And ferries us all back and forth.”

“Yes,” Sasha said. “He is a very big man.” She grinned at Yancy, and he wasn’t sure if she just meant tall. Which was her intention, to be sure.

Dinner was uneventful - decent restaurants tended to make people behave their best. They all crowded into one of their two rooms after they got back, though. “Right, then,” Tendo said. “Should we start with shots?”

 

“Fuck yeah,” Chuck said from the couch, where he was chatting with Imogene, showing her something on his phone. “‘m not going skinny dipping without some liquid courage in me to make me think it’s a good idea.”

Mako shook her head. “If your father asks about your day off…”

“I’d tell him the truth,” Chuck said.

“Aw, c’mon, man,” Tendo said, groaning. “You wanna get us all in trouble?”

“Mate, my father gave me my first beer when I was 13,” Chuck drawled, which was almost true - Herc hadn’t been the one to give him the beer, but he’d allowed Scott to do it without complaint, which was almost the same thing. “He’s not gonna flip out over some bloody scotch unless I show up with a dick tattooed on my forehead, or whatever.”

 

“Sharpie won’t count, yeah?” Tendo asked. He cracked open the bottle of flavored vodka Raleigh had brought and began to pour it into the small, plastic cups that Yancy kept in the back of the car.

“We only skinny-dipped that one time, anyway,” said Raleigh.

“And then the triplets took our clothes,” said Yancy. “Spent two hours wandering around in a fucking towel until we found them.” He shook his head.

“Well, we got them back,” Raleigh said. “Everyone good?”

“Cheers,” Imogene said.

“Skol,” said Alona. They all downed their shots and then Tendo set himself up at the dresser, where they had collected all of their alcohol, mixers, and packs of cigarettes.

“Room’s non-smoking, so if anyone wants one, go outside,” he said. “My credit card made the down deposit, so.”

He began to make drinks, and Yancy accepted his vodka and splash of cranberry without any comment. He was focused on Raleigh, who was chatting with Mako, and then looked over at Chuck, comparing cultural commonalities with Imogene.

 _Maybe not, then,_ he thought.

 

Chuck thought he probably could have kept up with Sasha in the drinking department, because for all the props people gave Russia for their drinking ability, they seemed to forget how little there was to do in Australia besides getting completely pissed all the time. But he wasn’t looking to get embarrassingly drunk and vomit everywhere, and being hungover on the ride back didn’t sound particularly fun either (ungh, combining nausea and boats, unpleasant) so he stayed relatively sober.

That didn’t mean he wasn’t tipsy, when he slipped out onto the balcony to smoke a cigarette. Tipsy enough to be enjoying himself, smiling at Tendo’s drunken antics and laughing at the story Imogene was telling him about American tourists thinking they were at Buckingham Palace when they were actually standing outside a very ornate shopping mall.

Tipsy enough to catch himself watching Raleigh Becket on more than one occasion, too.

It seemed prudent to take a moment to get some fresh air and sober up a little. He leaned against the railing, lit cigarette in hand, and blew out a stream of smoke as he looked down at the street below. 

 

Yancy had been watching Chuck most of the evening. If the tales about Australians were true - and Yancy had seen Herc Hansen, once, with Stacker when they wound up at the same bar for a night out - Chuck was doing his best to keep himself relatively sober.

Which was admirable, Yancy supposed. Apparently the kids hadn’t gotten to him such that he felt the need to get blind drunk, unlike Imogene and Alona, who had decided that they were going to be the representatives of each of their respective nations and their capacity for alcohol. Neither was an embarrassing drunk, though, and both were on one of the beds and sharing pictures of their friends from their phone.

Chuck had kept himself a bit apart from the group - but he had been watching Raleigh, and he seemed to appreciate what he saw. It didn’t take long before Raleigh stripped off the sweater that he was wearing and was down to one of his tight, ill-fitting t-shirts. Yancy tried to do all of their laundry but sometimes he couldn’t intercept Raleigh.

“You don’t have a drink in hand,” Yancy said, and passed him a plastic cup with some scotch and ice in it. “Having an all right time, then?”

 

Chuck accepted the drink with a slight smile. From the amount Yancy was watching him, Raleigh might not be the only Becket to (ostensibly) be attracted to him. Not just at the hotel, but a couple times before, Chuck had noticed Yancy’s eyes on him as much as - if not more than - Raleigh’s.

Bizarre, all around.

He took a sip and decided to test the waters. He knew that Raleigh was gay, or at least attracted to men. Didn’t know about Yancy, though. Mako had said Alona’s name had been revealed for his benefit, but that didn’t mean much.

“Having a great time,” he drawled with a widening smile. “You make it a point to corrupt a lot of minors, Becket?”

 

“Depends on the method of corruption,” Yancy said. He held his hand out, fingers apart, and smiled when Chuck passed him a cigarette and then the lighter as well. Yancy inhaled. Sometimes, there was nothing better than a drunk cigarette. “Drinking, cigarettes, sure.”

He glanced back into the hotel room. Raleigh was sprawled out on the bed, now, attempting to demonstrate the breast stroke to...someone. _Fuck my life,_ Yancy thought. Raleigh never would have survived in the wild without him.

“Oh, wait,” he said, when Chuck didn’t respond. “Are you looking to be corrupted, Hansen? Need someone to root? Pop your cherry? Is that what they call it in Australia?” He said the name of the country in the worst possible imitation of an accent he could muster.

 

Chuck just about gagged. While normally he would have responded with his normal spewed Australian nonsense, he had other things to think about here. Like was that an offer or not? Did anyone ever ask ‘are you looking to be corrupted’ who wasn’t attempting to be the one to corrupt?

He rocked back a little, peering up at Yancy quizzically. “Look mate, are you hitting on me or what?” He didn’t sound thrilled at the prospect - more genuinely puzzled at the way Yancy was going about it. ‘Need someone to root,’ what an awful-sounding come-on.

If so, the Becket boys were the weirdest flirters Chuck had ever met. If not, the Becket boys were the weirdest _conversationalists_ Chuck had ever met.

 

“No,” Yancy said, and then he grinned. “Just inquiring, really…” He took a drag of his cigarette and then flicked some ash over the ledge. He turned, then, to draw attention to Raleigh. “Oh, he’s switched over the butterfly.”

Raleigh always did have a good sense of unintentional timing - he was on his back, now, and undulating and canting his hips to show the necessary double kick you had to do for a truly successful butterfly stroke. It definitely looked like he was fucking someone. Brilliant.

“Are you disappointed, Chuck?”

 

About to answer, Chuck turned his head and caught an eyeful of - whatever Raleigh doing, and his voice died in his throat. He stared for a long moment, then started coughing on the lungful of cigarette smoke he forgot he had.

He took a swig of scotch to help with the coughing, which didn’t actually help, but at least it dampened his throat while he coughed violently into his hands. Finally, when he had regained control, he glared at Yancy, eyes watery.

“Yeah, you may not be hitting on me, but you are having a laugh at me, and that’s not cricket,” he said, voice icy. “Oh wait, sorry, too Aussie for you? You’re making fun of me and it’s not cool.”

 

Yancy knew this - but he didn’t think the gentle ribbing was worth the response he got. Apparently Chuck didn’t do gentle ribbing. 

Didn’t matter, though. The whole thing was basically a success, as far as fact-finding missions went. He had been pretty sure that Chuck was interested in men by how he asked him if he was offering, but after seeing his response to Raleigh’s demonstration he was now positive.

Also, Chuck had been exposed to that, which was a definite win. _The things I do for you,_ he thought.

“It’s your version of baseball, right?” Yancy asked.

 

Chuck seemed wary, but answered, “More or less. Different gameplay, same basic idea. And I’m pretty sure baseball is _your_ version of cricket, not the other way around.”

 

“Eh,” said Yancy. “I’m not up my sports history. Both are boring as fuck, though.”

 

“Well, we can’t all have sports that are an hour of standing around to every 10 minutes of actual gameplay,” Chuck said, deadpan. Seriously though, American football was terrible. The game took three bloody hours, even though there was only actually like 10 minutes of actual action. Why anyone watched it was completely beyond him.

 

“Oh, yeah, fuck football,” said Yancy. “I can’t stand it. More into hockey myself,” he said. “Shit, I appear to be out of vodka,” he said, and nodded towards the door. “You want to head back inside?”

 

Chuck looked surprised at the invitation. From what little of the conversation he understood, it hadn’t gone well. He didn’t know why Yancy was making the effort, considering half of their communication hadn’t been especially positive. “Uh, sure,” he said. “I’ll be in soon. Just gotta…” He waved his half-finished cigarette.

 

“Great,” Yancy said, and went inside.

Raleigh was back to being upright, sitting on the edge of his bed and sipping at something that looked like pure vodka. “Hey…Yancy, I was doing land swimming,” he said.

“Very successfully,” Tendo said, grinning at Yancy and then nodding his head to Alona. She was a bit too drunk, though - that definitely was not Yancy’s style. Though he was happy to lay the framework for something in the future. 

“I think we could all use some snacks,” Yancy said, and before he went for the pile of chips and other drunk necessities, he checked outside to make sure that Chuck hadn’t bolted on them.

 

He hadn’t, and a few minutes later, he crushed the cigarette butt under his heel and made his way back inside. He sat on the couch and was joined almost immediately by Mako, who curled up into a loose ball near him, though not quite touching.

“Are you being angry-Chuck?” she asked with the slow solemnity of the truly inebriated.

“No,” he said, amused.

“Good,” she pronounced. “This is a good night and you should recognize it as such.”

Chuck smiled. “I’ll be sure to do that.”

“Good,” she repeated. “Did Yancy convince you to rip off Raleigh’s - mmph!“

Her words were cut off as he clapped his hand over her mouth. “Okay, Miss Mori, we’re gonna get you a glass of water and you’re gonna sober up a little so you don’t embarrass yourself, or me, alright?”

Mako nodded.

Chuck shook his head and went to go fetch some water.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we just thought of two legitimate warnings to share!
> 
> A) there is a good deal of discussion over the size of raleigh's dick, to the point that it makes him uncomfortable. like, objectification levels. this is a flaw in chuck (& others) and we do not condone that kind of base fetishization.
> 
> B) on the other side, there is some bisexual erasure and bisexual stereotyping on behalf of chuck, and that is not cool either. people think/say things that are offensive and need to be addressed (and are, generally).
> 
> if these things make you uncomfortable, be warned.
> 
> oh i also just thought of - chuck has a lot of internalized issues over being a "slut" and the stigma that comes with. so that happens.

Yancy grinned as Mako just sort of fell into the spot that Chuck had previously occupied. He loved Mako, and he loved drunk Mako. She gave him a thumbs up, and he wasn’t sure what that meant.

Then he turned, because he realized he had lost sight of Raleigh. Nothing good could come of that. Last time he’d lost him...well, Yancy preferred not to think about it.

He grinned, relieved, when he saw that Raleigh had followed Chuck into the bathroom - presumably he’d gone to get some water for Mako.

“You promised snacks, Becket,” said Sasha. Yancy nodded his head and went into the grocery store bags and began to pull out the late night provisions.

 

Once he’d filled the plastic cup with water, Chuck turned around to return to the main room - and jumped, because there was Raleigh, right behind him.

“Christ,” he said. “Freaked me out.” Raleigh was taller than him, he realized from this proximity. Taller and wider and he had these _biceps_ , Jesus.

 

“Oh hey,” said Raleigh. “I wanted some water too. I suppose I could have just asked you. Oh, fuck, it is tiny in here.” Raleigh looked around tiny bathroom and then looked at Chuck. “And I’m blocking you in. Fuck. Sorry.” He took a few steps back and then winced.

“Are you having a good time, Chuck?” he asked. He hoped so. Raleigh was having a good time, at least.

 

Chuck laughed, endeared by Raleigh’s fumbling. “Having a great time,” he said, conscious of the fact that he’d told Yancy the same thing minutes before. He leaned against the sink and crossed his arms over his chest, head tilted to the side. _This is flirting, we are now flirting_ , he tried to communicate telepathically to Raleigh.

“I saw your swimming display. It was really, uh, something.” His smile turned crooked, a bit mischievous. “Good form.”

 

“Oh, well,” Raleigh said, and he ran his one hand through the back of his hair. “I’ve developed it, you know, over the years…” Something in his grin and his smile suggested flirtation, but all Raleigh could think of was the _plenty of girls to root_ in Boston comment. Though maybe Chuck had just said that - not wanting to admit to two guys he had just met that he really liked cock.

Just go with it, he thought. Couldn’t hurt, right? Especially since Chuck was...well, broad shouldered and built, had a little bit of a tan from a week out on the lake, and that smile revealed dimples deeper than Raleigh thought possible. “It’s really important to have good form, especially in the hips. Otherwise you’re not going to get anywhere.” He met Chuck’s eyes, hoping it sounded playful enough.

 

_Don’t say something embarrassing like asking for a hands-on demonstration,_ Chuck commanded his mouth. He bit his lower lip to keep the words bottled up inside. Fuck, how did other people do this? Was it too weird to just touch Raleigh’s biceps?

He really wanted to touch Raleigh’s biceps.

“Yeah, your hips, they could really get you places,” Chuck said, gaze dropping down - though hovering at about Raleigh’s belly button, because he wasn’t quite drunk enough to look any lower. “But must be pretty important to have good form in your arms too, I reckon, what with the guns you’re packing.”

Had he really just said that? Had those words just come out of his mouth? Oh Christ.

 

Raleigh tried to unpack that sentence. Good form was important in the arms, particularly for the butterfly. But what did guns have to do with anything? Starting pistols? He furrowed his brow - but then followed Chuck’s gaze, which was to his biceps.

_Oh,_ he thought. And, well, that seemed to answer that question. “I, uh, well, good form…” he said, and this actually made it even more difficult to respond to the statement. _And you were doing so well!_ “Arms do have a role to play, though, um, most of the power comes from the...legs. Hips.” He winced, slightly, as he smiled.

 

Jesus Christ, Chuck thought. Wasn’t it Raleigh’s job to be at least mildly competent at this? He was the gorgeous one here, it was his responsibility to be charming and suave and everything Chuck most certainly wasn’t.

He gave up on subtlety, and gave up on shame, and just grinned and waggled his eyebrows at Raleigh because why the fuck not. It wasn’t like he was blind, he knew Raleigh was attracted to him - or, at least, was pretty sure, what with Mako putting the idea in his head and all. Mako was pretty spot-on about this kind of thing.

“I’d love to see what you can do with your hips, Becket,” he said.

Because why the fuck not.

 

“It’s kind of dark out,” Raleigh said, and then… _Oh. OH._ He blinked, and looked at Chuck, and swallowed. He had wiggled his eyebrows, too. “Also, isn’t that getting a little bit ahead of ourselves?”

The room was fucking tiny and he hoped that both of them could fit, because he was most certainly not kissing the kid in front of a room full of drunk people with cameras on their cellphones. He grabbed the door and closed it, and in the process found himself pretty much hip to hip with Chuck anyway. “Damnit,” he muttered, and gave Chuck his best smile, then leaned in and brushed his lips against his.

 

“You’re sending me kind of mixed messages here,” Chuck murmured against his lips, but it was barely a breath, most of the oxygen in his body flooding his brain with endorphins because the hot Becket was kissing him, and that was definitely a victory.

He tangled his fingers in the hair on the back of Raleigh’s head, tilting his own head for a better angle to kiss him. And yeah, that helped, made the slide of their lips easier, and his head spun a bit at the pressure and proximity.

Plus, the alcohol, and all.

 

_OK, good, Raleigh, steady,_ he thought, because, fuck, Chuck was good at this - and Raleigh tried to take in the feel of his lips, the way he was tugging at his head. He moved one of his hands to Chuck’s hip and set it there gently, though he was tempted to just put it in the pocket of his jeans or move it back and squeeze Chuck’s gorgeous ass. _Patience,_ he thought.

Then Raleigh opened his mouth and worked Chuck’s open as well, slid his tongue in slowly, hoped that it was all right.

 

Chuck gave a breathy hum at the contact and kind of melted against Raleigh, pressing forward to feel the firmness of that perfect body against his front. It didn’t disappoint. Better if Raleigh were shirtless, which, while a good idea in his head, wasn’t something he was ready to do in a shitty hotel bathroom while Raleigh’s _brother_ was like 10 feet away on the other side of a flimsy door.

He pulled back reluctantly. “I, uh, ‘m not much of an exhibitionist. Plus, Mako’d make fun of me forever if I did anything with you here. Though I do wanna, like…” He looked down and swiped his tongue over his lower lip, figuring Raleigh could guess what he wasn’t saying.

 

“Yeah,” Raleigh said - he was sad that they had broke contact, but it was pragmatic. “Someone’s going to want to actually use the bathroom for its intended purpose pretty soon.” He winced, then, thinking through the rest of the evening. There were eight of them and two hotel rooms, guaranteeing two people per bed, though there were couches as well. And a cuddle pile was not unheard of. Especially with Tendo around.

“Um. Oh, fuck - I mean…” he flapped his hand, feeling useless. It had just been a kiss - a really good kiss - and he figured that there was a promise of more, but he didn’t want it to be awkward. Even though he knew the likelihood of someone wolf whistling them when he opened the door was near 100%. “Do you, um, want to...what do you want to?”

 

“Wow, smooth,” Chuck drawled, eyebrows raised. He curled his fingers in Raleigh’s collar and stretched up to bite gently at his lower lip, only enough to sting for a second. “Might be better this way. I don’t have any - you know, so…” He looked down again, gaze going hot and bright. “But I guess I could always…” He licked his lips again.

 

“Could..?” Raleigh asked, because everything in the damn town closed at ten and he was certain that it was past that - of course, though, Chuck had never come here, so he had no way of knowing. “Unfortunately, no, nothing’s open. Well, except for Tendo, and I like you, Chuck, I do, but…” He gave him a big smile, then, and gave him a light kiss.

So much for actually getting out of the bathroom quickly.

 

“No, you tosser, I could always suck you off,” Chuck said, laughing. “But it’s probably better not to, you’re right. ‘m not doing it in here, not doing it out _there_ , and I’m definitely not enduring the mockery if I dragged you out to your car and ripped your pants off with my teeth.”

That sounded slutty. He didn’t want Raleigh to think he was some kind of - “Assuming you’re interested, I mean,” he said, which was just about the lamest cover-up in the world, but he wasn’t firing on all cylinders with Raleigh’s kisses stealing his higher brain functions like that.

 

“Oh, I...I would be very interested,” Raleigh said, suddenly completely focused on how full Chuck’s lips were. He licked his own and pressed them together to keep something really stupid from coming out for a moment. “But completely agree, I - it’s never going to be completely private, that’s all. And I...I just wanted to know what you wanted to do, um, out there.” He flapped his hand again. This was probably the reason for the abysmal success rate, as Mako had noted.

 

Chuck snorted. “What I wanna do? What options have I got, mate?” It was a little late to pretend nothing was going on between him and Raleigh. No one would believe it even if they tried to lie. So in all probability, he would exit the bathroom with a grin, try to ignore the mockery, and hope that everyone forgot soon enough.

Unless that’s not what Raleigh was asking, but Chuck had no idea what he was getting at, if not that.

 

Raleigh sort of smiled - he wasn’t sure why, but Chuck was downright cute when he was a little bit flummoxed. Or angry, or whatever he was.

“Oh, well, I mean...there’s the other hotel room, but the natives might get a little restless if we lock them out,” Raleigh said. “So there’s that, or we just get another drink and…see where things go?” He shrugged, not sure what he wanted to articulate. No, he knew what he wanted to articulate, which was _and then we’re going to fall asleep together and cuddle and kiss and…_ But there was no fucking way he was saying that aloud. Especially to Chuck.

 

“I don’t care how pissed I get, I’m not fucking you in front of your brother,” Chuck said, smirking. He shrugged one shoulder. “Whatever. Que sera, sera.” If it worked out in their favor, he’d get laid. If not, no harm done. Sure, it would be kind of let-down to have expressed mutual interest with this Adonis not to go anywhere with it, but what other options did he have?

 

“OK,” Raleigh said. Not exactly what he was hoping for, but he was going to have to take it. He could already sense Tendo on the other side of the door, getting some kind of witty comment ready to spring on them. “Uh, Mako’s still waiting on that water,” he said, and looked at the cup that Chuck had set down on the sink. Then he reached behind him, opened the bathroom door, and stepped backwards into the hotel room.

Predictably, for all he figured they’d be greeted with cat calls, no one seemed to notice. Yancy was cuddled on the couch with Mako - and, _ha!_ Raleigh couldn’t help but think, _one step ahead of you two for once!_ Tendo was holding court with the three girl counselors, though Sasha seemed to be...Raleigh wasn’t exactly sure what she was thinking, and he was pretty sure he didn’t really want to know. She was a wild card, that one.

At least Yancy had bought his favorite chips. He walked over to the dresser to grab a handful and then poured himself another vodka and cranberry while he was there.

 

Chuck slipped out a minute after him, raising his eyebrows at Mako and Yancy. Huh. Was something going on there? She did seem to have only good things to say about the older Becket brother. He put it out of his mind for the moment, going over to wordlessly hand Mako the glass of water before immediately leaving again.

Huh. What was he supposed to do now?

 

“OK, right,” Yancy said, and Raleigh turned, startled to hear him use his authoritative voice - well, the voice he used when they needed to marshal everyone from one party to another, at college, or when he was trying to get the twelve year olds to stop sculpting dicks out of their clay. “I was told there would be skinny dipping and there has yet to be any skinny dipping.”

“I believe it was you who said-” Mako began, but then met Yancy’s eyes and nodded her head. “I could swim. But in my bathing suit.”

“Nothing better than a late night dip,” Tendo said, and began to root through his own backpack. “Rals?”

“I already did my swimming for the night,” Raleigh said, as the three other girls seemed to come to a silent agreement that they would go swimming in their suits as well. _Fuuck,_ he thought. _Yancy is going to demand pay back for this one._

“Hansen?” Tendo asked.

 

For one idiotic moment, Chuck almost agreed. Then he realized what Yancy was doing, and shut his mouth with a click. He thought fast. “I’ll pass this time,” he said. “Didn’t bring anything to change into.” Which was true, because his backpack was full of books and little else.

He carefully didn’t meet Mako’s gaze, not wanting to see her smug expression.

 

Raleigh waited until they were all out the door, then slowly set his drink down and carefully turned the lock. Screw the natives, now, they’d done it to themselves. They still had the whole other hotel room - and Yancy, prudent fucker, had been sure to leave with the bottle of flavored vodka and some cigarettes.

Raleigh turned to Chuck and gave him a slow, wide smile, and then he sat down on the bed. He lifted his hand up, about to pat the space next to him, but then realized that was what he would do when asking a camper over who needed to talk about something. So instead he fumbled a bit, grabbed at his t-shirt, and carefully slid it off.

 

Chuck stared for a moment. For a long moment, even, taking in the curves of Raleigh’s muscles, those ridiculous washboard abs. He shook his head. What the hell, how many hours of work went into keeping up that body?

Not that it wasn’t worth it, because damn, it was.

Then he crossed the room and climbed over Raleigh to straddle his hips, pushing him onto his back on the bed. “Can I…?” he asked with his fingers hovering over Raleigh’s lower belly, wanting to touch but conscious that he should at least get permission first.

 

Raleigh couldn’t help but kiss Chuck after the way that he had looked at him. This was much better, Chuck’s lips working against his easily, tongues pressing and sliding together.

He put a hand behind Chuck’s shoulder blades and then slid back on the bed so Chuck wasn’t awkwardly half on and half off.

“Oh, I mean, yeah, absolutely,” he said, moving away from Chuck’s lips when he remembered that he had asked Raleigh a question. A really important question.

 

“How the hell do you ever get laid, mate?” Chuck asked. He ran his hands over Raleigh’s chest, mapping it with his fingertips. It was firm and toned and so smooth Chuck wondered what Raleigh would think of his own less than smooth chest, and God, those abs were like - _God_.

He kept talking, his voice a low murmur. “Guess if you’ve got abs like you, face like yours, smile like _that_ , you don’t actually have to learn to flirt. Cuz - and I recognize the hypocrisy of this - you’re not the smoothest bloke around.” He tempered this insult by leaning over and scraping his teeth lightly over the tendons on Raleigh’s neck, sucking the flavor from his skin.

 

“I am…” Raleigh groaned as Chuck scraped his teeth down his neck. “Well aware, uh, about not being smooth,” he said. His head sort of swam as he went over the rest of the statement, though. He was used to people giving him the laundry list of physical attributes. He liked it tempered with the slight insult.

Raleigh reached for Chuck’s own shirt and gave a slight tug, more of a question. “Good thing we’ve both managed to overcome, that, though?”

 

“I’ve done my fair share, yeah,” Chuck said. He sat back on his haunches and - with only the slightest moment of hesitation - pulled off his shirt. It wasn’t that he was shy, really, but he was well aware he didn’t have a body like Raleigh’s. He was stocky where Raleigh was slim, and his abs may have been visible but they didn’t have the definition Raleigh’s did.

 

Raleigh’s eyes widened. He’d put some thought into what Chuck looked like under the long sleeve tops he was always wearing into the lake, and this did not disappoint. And was better. He put a hand on his chest, running his thumb over the dusting of hair and then Chuck’s nipple. And, fuck, he was broad, well defined, and pleasingly freckled.

Raleigh tugged him closer, then, pulled him in for a deeper kiss. Much as he had thought Chuck was cute with the _how do you ever get laid?_ thing, there had been a small part of him that felt he had something to prove. Yes, he was a complete disaster at flirting, but he was also aware he had another skill set - so while he might have awkwardly fumbled the entire way to getting someone into bed, he was pretty sure he knew what to do to keep them coming back.

He released Chuck’s mouth and kissed down his neck, then put his hands in the pockets of Chuck’s jeans like he had wanted to, earlier. “Chuck?” he said, reminding himself that the kid might have offered him a blowjob but hadn’t even gone to college yet. Who knew how experienced he actually was?

 

“Yeah?” Chuck’s breathing was just starting to deepen, and he curved into Raleigh’s hands in a wordless plea for more.

It seemed like Raleigh wasn’t too turned off, not that he had expected anything different. The sensation of Raleigh’s hand on his chest tingled over his skin, and he absently wished Raleigh would press harder, dig deeper. Chuck liked it when the marks lasted.

 

“Just wanted to make sure,” Raleigh said, and then reached his hand further inward to brush against Chuck’s cock. He put his other hand back on Chuck’s chest and went straight for his nipple, twisting it gently and then rolling it between his fingers.

Chuck was not insubstantial, which... _fuck,_ Raleigh thought, because they weren’t going to get there tonight. Eventually, hopefully, because...yeah.

He twisted Chuck’s nipple again and then swallowed and reached for his fly.

 

Chuck gave an embarrassing squeak of surprised pleasure when Raleigh was suddenly toying with his nipple, and then a shaky sigh when Raleigh pressed against his cock while he unzipped his fly. He rolled his hips forward into Raleigh’s hand.

“Sorry if my form is subpar,” he said, his own hands moving down to return the favor. He squirmed his hand inside once he had the room, wrapping his fingers loosely around Raleigh’s cock through his boxers. Couldn’t get a lot of room with Raleigh’s pants trapping his hand in place, but he could rub his palm against it in tight little circles, which was better than nothing.

 

“Sorry?” Raleigh asked, and then realized the source of Chuck’s frustration. He arched his hips to get his jeans most of the way off, then sighed as Chuck tugged them the rest of the way. He put his hands on Chuck’s hips and slid his down as well.

He grinned at Chuck, still on top of him, cock hard against his boxer briefs - and how had he not noticed the trail of hair from his navel to somewhere still hidden? He slid his fingers down Chuck’s side and pulled him down closer, wanting to get contact between their cocks. “No apologies,” he said, then kissed Chuck, immediately thrusting his tongue into his mouth.

 

“Oh, fuck,” Chuck bit out, hips stuttering forward, fingers clenching around Raleigh’s cock perhaps tighter than Raleigh might have liked. He sucked lightly on Raleigh’s tongue, eyes sliding shut, and ground down into him with more purpose in the action, a long, dirty bump ‘n grind.

He liked the warmth of Raleigh’s body against his, and the way he could rest all his weight on Raleigh’s thighs without feeling like he was squashing him - dude was big, all that muscle and bulk, and Chuck loved that he could kiss him roughly and dig his fingers into his shoulders without worrying about breaking him. Wasn’t like that with most girls, and Chuck didn’t miss it.

 

Raleigh groaned as Chuck laid his weight down on him - just perfect, he thought, the right amount of bulk. He was digging his fingers in, grinding against him, hard, fast, and Raleigh found himself making this kind of undignified keening noise as Chuck squeezed his cock, hard, and then ground into him again.

Raleigh opened his eyes and smiled at the expression on Chuck’s face, this sort of purposeful smile. He leaned up and grabbed at Chuck’s hair, slid his fingers in deep and then pulled Chuck down into a long, deep, kiss.

He grabbed at Chuck’s boxer briefs and ran his fingers under the band. “Think we should get these off?” he asked.

 

Chuck nearly gave himself whiplash nodding as quickly as he did, but he’d scarcely squirmed out of his boxer briefs before he scooted down Raleigh’s body, moving off him to sit between his legs. He leaned over and nuzzled Raleigh’s cock through his boxers, placing a wet, open-mouthed kiss to it through the fabric.

“Jesus Christ,” he said as he peeled Raleigh’s boxers off and got a good look at his cock for the first time. “Nice good-looking American bloke isn’t enough, you gotta have a monster dick also?” He dipped his head and curled his tongue around the head, working the tip of it against the bundle of nerves underneath.

 

“It’s - I…” Raleigh said, but Chuck didn’t give him enough time to formulate a response before he curled his tongue around his cock. Raleigh knew what he had - he’d spent enough time on swim teams to have perspective. “Chuuck, that’s…” He immediately twined his fingers into Chuck’s hair, just to get a hold on something.

Chuck answered Raleigh’s earlier question about his experience - he knew what he was doing. He was wrapping his tongue around Raleigh’s dick, searching out all of Raleigh’s most sensitive spots and then taking advantage of them. Raleigh’s hips bucks as Chuck’s slid his tongue over and around his head, teased the sensitive edge by licking all around and then placing his hand at the base of Raleigh’s cock. “That’s so good, fuuck…”

 

Chuck pulled away to issue a hoarse, “You can pull harder if you want, I like it,” and then he sucked the head into his mouth, bobbing his head shallowly. Then he pulled off again. “But if you gag me, you’re gonna regret it.”

And with that, he sucked Raleigh in deep, as far down his throat as he could. Sure it wasn’t as far as any normal guy’s dick would have gone - Chuck could deepthroat something like six inches, which Raleigh definitely _wasn’t_. But it wasn’t anything to scoff at, and Raleigh’s cock was brushing the back of his throat, which clenched tightly around it as Chuck convulsively swallowed the saliva building up in his mouth. He set a slow pace, pulling off just a little bit before sinking back down, trying to go a little further every time but not wanting to choke on it. It took some concentration, and Chuck closed his eyes, fighting to focus against the swell of arousal that clouded his mind, the throbbing of his cock distracting him.

 

“Oh, god, Chuck,” Raleigh said, because holy fuck - he was taking him down, trying to take him down, pulling him deeper and deeper. He tugged a little harder at Chuck’s hair, twisting just slightly, and groaned as he Chuck pulled him down further. “Chuck, that’s so good!” He grabbed at the scratchy hotel sheets with his other hand and felt the familiar build in his balls, in his cock, warmth collecting and pooling as all the nerves in his body began to thrum. Fuck, he needed-

“You are so...I’m, I’m close, Chuck, I-” He wanted to give him fair warning, not knowing his preference - and somewhere, in the back of his head, he couldn’t help but think, _bit embarrassing, kid. Not the best showing._ He didn’t really care, though, not with the warmth of Chuck’s mouth around his dick and the eager noises he was making as he sucked.

 

Normally Chuck would want to spit rather than swallow, but there wasn’t anything to spit into in the near vicinity and he wasn’t going to get up now, not when every muscle in his body was tensed and his entire body ached with the visceral need to come. It felt like one touch was going to be enough to set him off, and he wrapped his fingers around his balls and tugged, trying to stave off the inevitable.

So he decided to swallow. Not the first time, for sure. He did employ a trick his first boyfriend had taught him, where he took Raleigh’s cock deep in his mouth when he could feel it start to swell, so it spilled down his throat when he came and he didn’t have to taste the bitterness of it. He swallowed eagerly, coughing a little and rubbing the back of his hand over his mouth as he pulled away. “Seriously, you’re…” He shook his head. “Jesus.”

 

Raleigh inhaled, because. Well. Chuck had taken him down easily, that warm mouth all around his cock, pulling every last thread of pleasure out of him. He’d been so deep in Chuck’s mouth it was sort of like drowning. Then he realized Chuck had said something, and. “Oh, yeah. Um.” He winced slightly and gave Chuck half a grin. “I know?” He always felt a bit bad - he knew it was a lot to take, and he really appreciated the effort.

 

“I’m gonna want to get that inside me later,” Chuck grinned wolfishly, palming his own cock. “But we’re gonna need some time, because I’m not stopping at just the once.” He rolled his balls in his fingers then returned to stroking the shaft, thumb rubbing circles over the sensitive nerves. Tipped his head back and eyed Raleigh beneath lowered lashes, appreciating the visual of his flushed, sweaty skin and his bright eyes.

 

“Yes, that...we can arrange that,” Raleigh said, and watched as Chuck stroked his own cock. He was so gorgeous - Raleigh had to resist the urge to tell him that, but he was. It was all in the combination of ginger hair, the freckles, the thick muscles that he had. Gorgeous just didn’t seem to be a word that Chuck would respond well to, though. Pity.

Raleigh nudged him with his leg, wanting to kiss Chuck and taste himself on his mouth. He wrapped his leg around him slightly, next, to pull him a bit further up. Chuck moved, easily, and Raleigh took the opportunity to not only kiss him, plunging his tongue in deep and tangling it with Chuck’s, but to take Chuck’s cock in hand and stroke it gently, keeping his grasp loose. It wasn’t like Chuck had anything to be ashamed of, either, and Raleigh groaned at the feel of him in his hand.

 

Chuck shivered, panting against Raleigh’s lips, too breathless to have any real skill. He was quite content to let Raleigh lead this, taking his own hand away to tangle it in the sheets for grip. “Like the way you say my name,” Chuck said with a low chuckle, because he’d heard it enough when he’d had Raleigh’s cock in his mouth. But he didn’t mind, because Raleigh’s voice was fucking pornographic, all rumbling and deep and Chuck committed the sound of his name in that voice to memory for future examination.

He whined when he felt Raleigh was moving too slowly, thrusting into his hand. Bitch was a goddamn tease, and that wasn’t cool. Chuck needed to get off, desperately.

 

Enough teasing, Raleigh figured, and he took a hand and guided Chuck over onto his back. He took a moment to meet his eyes and grin at him. “Chuck,” he said, drawing his name out, “you want me to suck you off, too?”

Maybe not enough teasing, because Raleigh remembered how Chuck had responded last time he’d got a hold of his nipples, so he took a small detour on the way down and bit, then sucked. Then he quickly kissed down Chuck’s hard stomach and put his hand around the base of his cock. _Oh,_ he thought, getting a closer look. Not circumcised, and this was a first. Raleigh pulled the foreskin back, revealing the head, and licked around the sensitive edge. He was willing to admit he was out of his element. “Chuck, tell me what feels good.”

 

“It’s, ah, not that different,” Chuck said, stomach muscles clenching up. He bit his lip, raising his hand to rub his thumb over his nipple, where Raleigh’s saliva was cooling as it dried, causing a strange, pleasurable tightening. “The skin is sensitive, so you can - yeah, pull it back, and, uh - scrape your teeth but _gently_ , seriously.” He grinned. “You’ve gotten blowjobs, mate, you know what feels good. S’not as different as you think.”

Raleigh’s mouth, Jesus. He pretty much didn’t care what Raleigh did, he just wanted those pretty lips around his cock.

 

Raleigh was happy to oblige, careful and slow at first, working his tongue around the head of Chuck’s cock. Then he took the tip into his mouth and sucked, taking just the first sensitive part of Chuck in and then slowly working down from there.

He bobbed, always pulling his lips over the head before working his way down again, slowly descending down Chuck’s cock. Once he finally made it as far as he was able he looked up at Chuck and met his eyes. Then Raleigh pulled his lips back up while he slid a finger back and began to search for that perfect spot between his balls and his ass to rub with his thumb as he moved his lips over his cock.

 

Chuck was already humiliatingly close, and he gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut, struggling to keep himself under control. But his heels digging into the sheets, his toes and fingers curling, gave him away, along with the little whines that left his throat when he couldn’t keep them trapped behind his teeth.

“Not gonna last long,” he choked out. His knuckles went white with the force of his grip on the sheets. He squirmed against Raleigh’s finger, hips working in tiny circles.

And Jesus, Raleigh’s gaze on him - he felt that like a physical punch to the gut, in the best way possible.

 

Fuck, he was beautiful like this - completely strung out and squirming around Raleigh. It took everything not to grin around his cock.

Raleigh hummed, gentle - there would be time to draw this out, but not now. He pressed a little harder on Chuck’s perineum and took the whole of him down, twisting his tongue around when he pulled up again. He put his other hand around the base of his cock to pump in rhythm with his mouth and focused on Chuck’s tip, on the most sensitive parts of him.

Raleigh pushed at the foreskin, got it to go over the sensitive edge of Chuck’s cock and then worked his tongue around the edge as he released it. He hummed again and began to massage Chuck behind his balls instead of pressing and made sure to meet Chuck’s eyes. He wanted to see him come.

 

Chuck tossed his head back, sinking his teeth into the meat of his palm to keep from letting loose a stream of incoherent, awed babbling. His eyes clenched shut, white spots appearing behind his eyelids, and his fingers scrabbled at the sheets.

Christ, and he thought he was pretty good at this. Maybe he was, he didn’t know, but Raleigh’s mouth was mind-blowing, fucking leeching every coherent thought from his head, and he didn’t want to let anything embarrassing slip out of his mouth. So the low, strained moan he gave when he came was muffled against his skin, hips jerking abortively against Raleigh’s restraining grip.

 

Raleigh took him down easily, sucked him through it, resisted the urge to close his eyes so he could just focus on the taste of Chuck. It was a good thing, too, because watching him moan like that into his hand was almost enough to make him hard again.

He kept his mouth on Chuck’s cock until he was sure he was done, until he felt him soften. Then he trailed loose kisses back up and settled in his neck, nuzzled there, not sure if Chuck would want to kiss him right after. He sucked gently - not enough to leave anything permanent, but just a little friendly reminder for a few minutes that he had been there.

“Next time,” he said, taking advantage of being able to sort of whisper in Chuck’s ear, “I want to hear you.”

 

“Yeah, fine,” Chuck agreed, still dazed enough to be compliant with pretty much whatever Raleigh wanted. Raleigh could have asked him to fuck in front of the entire Cedar Hills staff and he might’ve done it.

Once he’d regained his motor skills, which had been pleasantly drained by Raleigh’s fantastic cock-sucking skills, he felt around for his boxer briefs and pulled them on, lifting his hips to squirm into them. He reached for his jeans, but paused - it seemed like Raleigh wanted to cuddle more, and Chuck wasn’t precisely against that, so he didn’t want Raleigh to think he was rushing away. It’s just, he wanted to be clothed when Yancy and the others came back. So he hesitated, frozen with indecision, hand hovering over his jeans, a mildly uncertain look in his eyes as he regarded Raleigh.

 

Raleigh was pleased - and, OK, he had definitely got feedback in the past and so he knew he was good at sucking cock. But he liked that he could make Chuck feel that good, use his mouth on him and make him come so hard that he actually just agreed with something - no sarcasm, no glib remark, nothing. Raleigh smiled and then watched as Chuck’s hand hovered over his jeans. And that was good, too, that he recognized Raleigh’s desire to be tactile and was actually considerate of it.

“Oh,” Raleigh said, and smiled at him. “You’re right - they’ll probably be back soon. Yancy has impeccable timing.” He nodded his head at this statement and then flopped over onto his stomach to find his boxers and jeans on the floor. He had to cant his ass a little bit to reach them, pulling up on his knees finally in order to grasp them.

 

Oh, that just wasn’t fair. Chuck’s jaw dropped a little when Raleigh shifted like that, and he reached over and ran his hand over the taut muscle without seeming to realize he was doing it. “Forget getting you inside me, I wanna get _this_ around my dick.” He squeezed down, enraptured at the feel of it.

 

Raleigh startled at the touch, not expecting it. And then it wasn’t just a touch, it was an out and out squeeze. He was pretty sure that he made an undignified sound, too, especially when it was combined with the idea of Chuck fucking him, because...well. “I would...yeah, definitely, I…”

_Shit,_ he thought, because he had just done so well - but he was never sure how to bring this up, especially since people always tended to assume, because of the way he looked, how big his dick was...and it wasn’t like he didn’t enjoy topping. He just had a distinct preference. “Yeah,” he finished. “Yeah, I want that too.”

 

Chuck frowned. It occurred to him that so far, he’d initiated every step of this encounter, other than that kiss Raleigh had laid on him - which he’d only done because Chuck issued an incredibly obvious come-on about his hips. But Chuck had been the one to keep things going, had been the one to move things along. More than that, Chuck had pretty much been the one to express interest in going further, offering blowjobs and saying he didn’t have a condom, and so on. And Raleigh hadn’t sounded certain right there.

And Chuck didn’t like the feeling it gave him, in the pit of his stomach. Like Raleigh was only doing this because Chuck was making it so easy for him, or whatever.

“I mean,” he said, sitting on the edge of the bed to pull on his jeans, “if it happens.”

 

“What?” Raleigh said, and he rolled over so that he could get a look at Chuck’s face. There had been a definite missed connection there and he didn’t want to say anything until he made a good attempt to figure out where things had gone wrong.

He gave Chuck a searching look and was glad that he was only just setting his face into one of his many scowl settings - going for a level one or level two scowl, the entry level of scowls. Thank fuck Raleigh was able to catch the uncertainty and nervousness in Chuck’s face, the way he swallowed, like… “No, I...I’m sorry. I just. OK.” Raleigh inhaled and licked his lips. “I really, really want you to fuck me. A lot.” He did his best to make it a declarative sentence, to meet Chuck’s eyes as he said it. “Just, um, in the past...look, I like being on the receiving end of things? And it hasn’t always gone over well, and, I just like someone to, um, you know. Kind of…?” He winced, because, fuck, this was the first time they were together and how do you tell someone you want a good man-handling?

 

Chuck raised his eyebrows. His scowl faded, but his face stayed mostly blank afterwards, only the expectant look in his eyes disrupting the flat tableau.

_It hasn’t always gone over well, and I like someone to…_ do what exactly? The end of that sentence wasn’t particularly clear, because he couldn’t figure out what Raleigh was getting at. Mostly he didn’t understand how it could possibly not go over well, how anyone could turn him down. How _anyone_ could look at Raleigh’s ass and not want to just -

“Yeah?” he prompted.

 

Raleigh had thought it wasn’t possible, but his wince expanded. _Goddamnit,_ he thought, _this is not how this was supposed to go._ Internally, he wanted to scream - especially since Chuck had checked himself and wasn’t giving anything away anymore.

“Fuck me,” Raleigh said, and swallowed. “I like to bottom, and, um, be...you know. Really fucked. And…” He hoped, prayed that was what Chuck wanted to hear. He did not want to fuck this up.

 

Chuck’s expression stayed cool for another minute, then a predatory grin crossed his lips. He forewent buttoning his jeans to roll over, crawling on his knees over to Raleigh. He raised his hand to settle his palm over Raleigh’s collarbone, rubbing circles with his thumb in the dip of his throat.

“So just to be clear, mate,” he said lowly, “you’re asking me to pin you down and tear that tight ass of yours apart, right? Pound into you so hard it puts a dent in the wall with the headboard?” His voice was rough with desire, and he figured it was pretty clear how completely on board with this idea he was.

 

Raleigh was amazed his brain managed higher level functioning after that - Chuck above him, that fucking grin of his, the deep growl in his voice. But it was, and the functional part of his brain was very happy. _I did not fuck this up! He has signed on!_ He thought. Was 90% sure.

Raleigh swallowed, hard, and met Chuck’s eyes. He nodded, and then opened his mouth. “Yes,” he said, wanting to avoid the pratfall from a few minutes ago. “Yes, that is...pretty fucking close to how I would describe it. What I want.” He nodded again, hoping it wasn’t stupid. It was, though. Chuck had pretty much rendered him stupid.

 

“Well, then,” Chuck said, pressing down a little harder with his thumb. “I’d be more than happy to oblige.” He ducked his head and kissed Raleigh, brief and teasing, nothing really satisfying about it, before murmuring against his lips, “All you gotta do is ask.”

Then he pulled back and laughed as he found his shirt and tugged it on. “Well, ask, and somehow find us an empty room with a door that locks where we’ve got guaranteed privacy for more than 20 minutes, so…” His smile was wry and small, because how likely was the chance of that happening?

 

“Yes,” Raleigh said, and frowned as Chuck tugged his shirt on. He was still not functioning on all cylinders. He did not understand Chuck’s smile - wistful, almost. “Um. Chuck? You know that is a thing that can happen, right? Those are not difficult conditions to fulfill?”

Conscious of how Chuck was almost fully dressed now, he reached and grabbed for his boxers and jeans.

 

“Yeah, how’s that?” Chuck snorted. “‘m not fucking you in the cabins, don’t care if the ankle biters aren’t around.” Fully dressed now, he sat on the bed and watched with unmasked interest as Raleigh’s delightful abs disappeared under his shirt.

 

“We have a day off each week,” Raleigh said, patient and careful. “So, next week, we go off and get...our own room?” Yancy had done it last summer with Charlotte, after three weeks of flirting and making out and...actually, Raleigh didn’t want to think what else because he was pretty sure Yancy had done things when they were all...nevermind. Left Raleigh with Tendo and the Weis - so as far as Raleigh was concerned, he owed him.

 

Chuck raised his eyebrows. It wasn’t that the idea hadn’t occurred to him. He just couldn’t see it panning out, because… “What, you’re gonna leave your brother’s side for more’n 10 minutes? I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Yancy spent a whole lot of time taking care of Raleigh and, weirdly, kind of flirting with Chuck on his behalf. Chuck couldn’t imagine them without each other.

 

“Yes,” Raleigh said, narrowing his eyes slightly - and this protective flair only proved Chuck’s point, so he squeezed them shut and then smiled. “I have to deal with his dumb ass all week. It would be good to have a break. Plus he ditched me half of last summer, so...he can pile in with Tendo and I could take his car.” He smiled at the end, hoping that offering something pragmatic would help.

 

“Alright, yeah,” Chuck said, standing up to approach Raleigh. He reeled him in by the hem of his shirt. “You get us a hotel room and a way to get there, and I’ll be more’n happy to fuck the sense outta ya.”

 

Raleigh groaned and then kissed Chuck - slowly, because if he kissed him like he wanted to he was going to end up with another hard-on and no way to really deal with it. Instead he gently opened his mouth and slid his tongue in. He sucked Chuck’s lower lip as he pulled back. “Good,” he said. “Though it’s going to be awfully hard to watch you out on that kayak, thinking about that…”

 

“At least I wear clothes,” Chuck pointed out. “You’re up there in just your boardies, looking all pornographic, I mean…” He slipped his hand up under Raleigh’s shirt to stroke it over his abs, more appreciative than lustful, for now. He could guess what Raleigh was trying to do with the slow kissing, and it made sense, so he didn’t want to turn either of them on.

 

“Ah, well,” Raleigh said. “We have shirts - the English guy, Will, he wears one. Says he would spontaneously combust without it. I could wear mine.” _Fuck me,_ he thought. _Where did the word diarrhea come from?_

 

“Hey now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Chuck said, laughing. “I didn’t say that.” He liked Raleigh all flustered like that, but hell, he didn’t want to deprive the world (and himself) of Raleigh’s abs. No way.

 

“OK,” Raleigh said. “Sure.” He smiled, and pressed his lips together - because, if they had got dressed preemptively-

Then there was a knock on the door. Raleigh groaned, waiting for it.

“Are you two gonna come out and play?” Tendo asked.

Raleigh looked at Chuck. “Guess we should make an appearance, eh?”

 

“If we must,” Chuck said, checking the mirror in the bathroom to see if he had any visible hickeys or anything else of the sort. He finger-combed his hair back into place.

 

“Aw, it’s not that bad,” Raleigh said. He resisted the urge to ruffle Chuck’s hair, grabbed the bottle of Scotch and two extra glasses, and opened the door.

Everyone was sitting in their bathing suits on the balcony of the hotel, legs dangling through the gaps in the rail. Raleigh, remembering his earlier conversation with Chuck about Yancy, plopped down next to Mako and reached for the fruity, flavored drink she had.

Mako narrowed her eyes at him, probably a little more sober thanks to the midnight swim, and then gave him a slight smile. It just occurred to Raleigh that she was in a bit of a weird position - they were friends because of camp, but she was better friends with Chuck, it seemed.

“Nice swim?” he asked.

 

“Very,” she said. “And you? How was your…” Her smile went a little sly, eyes slanting wickedly, “bonding?”

But for all her teasing, she was a little concerned, for both of them. Though one might expect her to be more worried for Raleigh’s emotions, given Chuck’s characteristic brusqueness, she was just as concerned for Chuck - he was more sensitive than he liked to let on, which was glaringly apparent to anyone with any talent at reading people. And he may have had experience hooking up, and even with dating, but he had never dated someone like Raleigh before, open and generous and sweet. This could very well end poorly for everyone involved.

But she wasn’t going to say anything. It wasn’t her place.

 

“Um…” Raleigh glanced over at Chuck, standing awkwardly at the end of the balcony and talking to Imogene. “I think well? Probably.” He did his best to play it down. He wasn’t superstitious - no, he was. In the past he felt like, whenever he talked about something like it was real, it would blow up in his face.

He couldn’t quite contain his smile, though. He liked Chuck, even if he was a dickhead. It wasn’t too hard to see it was a particularly prickly exterior, and the hints of what were underneath…well. He wanted to see more. Though he was definitely aware that Chuck was never going to be soft and cuddly. Which was OK. Raleigh kind of had that covered.

“How about you, Mako - any bonding?”

 

“Maybe, but I’m not telling you with whom,” she said archly. She turned her head away, smiling.

Just because messing with Raleigh was fun. He got that kicked puppy look, like that would coax her into telling him. She’d been friends with him for enough years that she was now immune, and was only amused at his attempts.

 

“That’s fine,” said Raleigh. “I will just wait and see.” He glanced behind him to see what Yancy was up to - telling some sort of story with Tendo, it seemed, to the other girls in the group and to Chuck as well. He met Yancy’s eyes. His brother widened them, opened his mouth, and then wiggled his tongue against his cheek suggestively.

Raleigh scowled. It wasn’t as good as a Chuck scowl. Maybe that was something he could improve on this summer, though. He’d be learning from a master.

“What about Yance?”

 

“I believe he got some bonding done as well,” she said, playing dumb, though it was belied by the twinkling of her eyes.

She didn’t think it was any of her business. Besides, Yancy would tell Raleigh everything anyway. For that matter, what was he doing asking her instead of grilling his brother himself? It was rare that Raleigh didn’t gravitate towards Yancy when they were both in the same room.

 

“Um,” Raleigh said, because he could almost hear what Mako was thinking - sometimes she was pretty transparent. “Chuck said...that I never leave Yancy’s side. Which is probably true, and…” He winced, not sure what he was really getting at. Well, no, he knew what he was getting at. He wanted to show Chuck that he wasn’t right because he wanted what Chuck had suggested next week pretty badly. Fuck, he was going to get hard if he thought about it too much. Raleigh swallowed.

 

“Oh, Raleigh,” she said, and patted his shoulder. “There is nothing wrong with that. Unless - why did this come up?” She figured she knew, but still - there was always the chance that Chuck hadn’t been a huge tool to Raleigh.

Of course Chuck would say something like that. Especially since Yancy made him nervous, and all their interactions hadn’t helped that. Though she knew he’d never admit it.

 

“Um,” Raleigh said. Shit - well, whatever. Mako was one of his better friends, and not just at Cedar Hills. “I told him I could get the car next week…but he didn’t think I could, uh, pull myself apart from Yancy sufficiently to…” Raleigh sighed. He could see why Chuck would say it - but it wasn’t like he had known them that long, even if Yancy had taken his wing-maning duties maybe a bit too seriously.

 

“Chuck is already acerbic enough, but when he feels…” She bit her lip. “I am willing to wager that something had just happened to make him feel vulnerable.” She poked him in the chest with her pointer finger. “Are you going to tell me I’m wrong?”

 

“Make him feel vulnerable?” Raleigh asked, not sure what she was getting at. And why was she poking him? He took her drink from her again and took a very long sip from it. “What...I was...how?”

 

“Oh, Raleigh,” she said again. She shook her head this time, because apparently Chuck wasn’t the only clueless one in this pair. “I know you don’t _know_ Chuck, but… Had you said something that made him self-conscious? Had he accidentally revealed something that he felt was personal? Had you made him nervous? He doesn’t like being nervous. And he doesn’t like feeling out of his element.”

 

“I don’t think so?” he said, but this was useful, so he figured he would just get it over with. “We, um, sucked each other off and then I told him that I...you know, how I like...and that actually didn’t go super well? I think he…” Raleigh furrowed his brow. “I mean, you know how, like, Grant and, that ended, because he didn’t like how I was...so I didn’t want to, um, anyway, but he liked it, and he said we could, um, fuck, but only if we had privacy so I told him I could get the car.” He smiled and then inhaled.

 

“You’re going to be intolerable for the next week, aren’t you?” Mako said, smiling. “But I can’t see why it would make him uncomfortable, because he…” She blushed. “I’ve heard things. Let’s just say, you’re going to be a happy man, Raleigh Becket.”

 

Oh, now she was just being cruel. Heard things? Things like what? Raleigh had seen things, felt things, he had a pretty good idea what he was getting into. But she was blushing! Mako never blushed. Though it might be the alcohol. “Mako.” He gave her a poke, this time. “Maako, you can’t do that to me...Mako, come on…”

 

“It’s nothing,” Mako said, waving one hand to indicate that she really had nothing to say. “He dated a mutual friend, and I heard things about his - you know.” She couldn’t think of a subtle, respectful way of saying ‘his fucking skills.’ “He’s very intense,” she finally said. “He… doesn’t hold much back.”

 

“Oh.” Raleigh looked over at Chuck, now leaning against the wall and drinking his Scotch - attempting to appear to be having deep thoughts, it seemed. He felt himself shiver and pouted. “This is going to be such a long week,” he mumbled, and then flopped backwards and flat onto his back. “Maaaako.”

 

She laughed. “I make no apologies for sharing how your hook-up has been called, and I quote, ‘a sex savant.’” She tapped her finger against the railing of the balcony as she thought. “Chuck is a perfectionist,” she added.

 

“You are a cruel person,” Raleigh said. “You are a bad friend.” He could see it, though, based on the way Chuck had deep throated him - no one had ever managed to do that before, and Chuck had taken him like it wasn’t any big deal.

Then a horrifying thought occurred to him - Chuck was just a kid, eighteen, and already a sex savant? There was no way that Raleigh was going to be able to… “Mako,” he whispered, and so Mako leaned in, smiling slightly. “I don’t think I’m that good.”

 

Mako knew she shouldn’t have laughed, but Raleigh seemed so earnest. It was adorable. “Did he seem to enjoy it? He wouldn’t fake it, if not.” She crossed her arms over her chest, raising her eyebrows.

 

“Well…” Raleigh looked up at her. “He was...yes,” he said. “I would say yes. But that’s - I know I am good at that. But that’s not...you know. You knowing.” How had he got this drunk? No, he knew - he had pounded a vodka drink before following Chuck into the bathroom. Seems it had caught up to him.

 

“Oh, well,” she said, blinking. “I mean, I have no, ah, personal experience, but - isn’t it more difficult, to be the - to give, um.” She regretted having entered this conversation in the first place, but forged ahead, “I mean, I just - when you’re the bottom, you just… right?”

 

“Oh, Mako,” said Raleigh, and this was enough to pull him upright again. He wanted to pet her on the head. “Do you just...right?” He raised an eyebrow at her.

 

“Of course not,” she said, scowling at him. “But there is more control and - and agency with giving blowjobs than being… I just meant, if you’ve developed the skill at giving blowjobs well, I would assume you have the experience to be skilled in other areas as well.” She tried not to pout, because Sensei always said it encouraged people not to take her seriously, but...

 

“That would make sense,” said Raleigh. “I just…” he sighed. “I don’t know, no one’s ever said anything, called me a sex savant, or…” He was being ridiculous, he decided. Poor Mako. “I’m sorry. You don’t want…”

 

Mako sighed, shaking her head. “For the sake of full disclosure, Chuck was this mutual friend’s first sexual experience. And I think part of the awe was pure surprise. You know, Chuck doesn’t come across as…”

Anytime she doubted the ‘puppy’ label Raleigh seemed to attract wherever he went, she would remember this conversation.

 

“He is a little grumpy looking,” Raleigh said, carefully. That was the last thing that he needed Chuck to overhear him saying. “Well, I guess that’s...that makes me feel better, Mako. Not like I have that much experience, either.”

 

“I didn’t mean to worry you,” she said, setting her hand on his shoulder. “Believe me, you have nothing to worry about. Chuck is brutally honest. If he thought little of you, you would know.”

 

Somehow this actually comforted Raleigh, and he smiled as Mako sort of snuggled into him. Then Sasha stood. “I do not know about the rest of you, but I am going to bed,” she said. It was almost like a challenge.

“Oh, shit, Mako,” Raleigh said. “Do I...should I share a bed with Chuck? I can’t with Yancy because that would just prove that…”

 

“Raleigh,” she said, closing her eyes for a moment to sigh to herself. “Chuck will still fuck you if you have a close relationship with your brother. I promise you, he does not care.” She arched one eyebrow. “And, my apologies, but I not believe it is really your decision. You may have to come to terms with bowing to Chuck’s will more often than you may expect.”

 

Mako was right - she was usually right. Well, except he was pretty sure Chuck cared a little bit about Yancy, but it probably had more to do with Yancy being...well, himself, than it did with Raleigh’s relationship with him.

“You’re right,” Raleigh said. “I just don’t want to fuck it up, that’s all, you know?”

 

“Probably you should spend less time talking about me behind my back, then,” came Chuck’s voice from behind him. He had his arms folded over his chest and a dark, mulish look in his eyes. “Just a tip.”

Mako just rolled her eyes. She hadn’t seen him coming, and she scolded herself for that - apparently her senses were more dulled than she had thought, from the alcohol. But she knew him well enough not to take his dramatics very seriously. “We said nothing insulting or overly personal,” she said.

“I’m sure,” he said, sneering.

 

_Why is this my life?_ Raleigh thought. He rolled his head back and looked at Chuck upside down. _Do not open your mouth,_ he said, because his initial instincts were to refute what Chuck was alleging. _Especially nothing about…_ “Cock.”

 

Mako stared.

Whether or not it was the smoothest statement around, it had the effect of wiping Chuck’s sneer from his face, replaced by a puzzled, vaguely amused look. He licked his lips. “Is that a request or a term of endearment?”

 

Raleigh knew better than to glance to Mako for help with this. “Both?” he tried, and then pulled his head back and turned and gave Chuck what he hoped was an adorable but winning smile.

He figured it was a victory. He had got the sneer off of his face, at least.

 

“Uh huh,” Chuck said. Unfortunately for Raleigh, the moment passed, and Chuck starting to turn away, expression icing over once more. “Well, don’t let me interrupt. By all means, carry on. S’pose I should be flattered to make such a captivating subject of conversation.”

Mako rolled her eyes again.

 

“Shit,” Raleigh hissed, and then he stood and turned. “I was just…” he glanced around and made sure that only Mako was nearby - Yancy and Tendo were talking with the remaining two girls and seemed, at least, oblivious to what was happening with him and Chuck.

Raleigh sighed, remembering what Mako said. Also, honesty was the best policy, right? “I was just asking for advice because I didn’t want...well, I wanted things to go well. Which didn’t work out, so, that was a poor choice. Sorry.” He rubbed his hand at the back of his neck and scratched slightly and couldn’t help but wince.

 

Chuck paused. While his expression didn’t thaw, his eyes were more contemplative than angry as he looked over Raleigh. “I don’t get it,” he said, and if his voice was a little rougher than normal, he didn’t acknowledge it. “What’d I do that made you think things _weren’t_ going well? I mean, what, you need advice because you’re just so sure I’m gonna fuck it up - or it’s gonna get fucked up, or whatever.”

 

“I’m actually really incompetent at this?” Raleigh said. “You may have picked up on that from before?” It was the best he could do - because he didn’t want to bring up Yancy, or how he made Mako tell him how good Chuck was at sex, because that was just going to bring her into it - and, yeah, she’d slunk off and probably flopped into bed with Sasha, which was the prudent thing to do at this point. “Actually I don’t have very much experience at all. And, uh...Mako is usually pretty helpful, so.”

 

“Yeah,” Chuck said flatly. “Okay. Well, here’s some advice for future fuckbuddies - Don’t talk about them behind their backs while they’re 10 feet away from you. I dunno, I think it could lead to some awkward situations.” He shrugged, feigning nonchalance.

 

“Yeah,” Raleigh said - and he didn’t know what else to say because, yeah, he’d fucked up. Story of his romantic life. Also, though, this had been a remarkably up and down evening considering that they seemed to be attracted to each other, had a pretty great time, and had ended on the hopeful note of future encounters. Was he wrong to want to try and make sure things didn’t continue being awkward? Or was this what Mako had been talking about - what had she said? Chuck didn’t like being vulnerable, self-conscious or nervous.

Right. “You’re absolutely right. I’m sorry.”

 

Chuck eyed him as if suspicious of the sincerity of this apology. Eventually, though, he nodded, running his tongue over his upper row of teeth. “Whatever,” he said. He turned his head, looking into the room, and paused.

Imogene and Alona, Mako and Sasha - fair enough, that the girls had paired off. But still, who’d that leave Chuck with? He was still irritated with Raleigh, and they weren’t sleeping together status yet. But what, sleep with Tendo? Or worse yet, Yancy? Chuck wasn’t that petty, nor that masochistic.

He sighed. “We’re not cuddling,” he grumbled. “And if you snore, I’m kicking you out of bed.”

 

“That’s fair enough,” Raleigh said, and he found himself exhaling for the first time since Chuck had come over. He reached down and picked up the bottle of vodka that was on the floor and then headed into the hotel room.

Tendo was already passed out, face first into the pillow and snoring lightly. It sounded like Yancy was brushing his teeth in the bathroom - and then the sound of him spitting confirmed it. “Chuck, anything in particular you want or need to do tomorrow? Alona and Imogene want to pick up some things from civilization, but…” He turned and poked his head out of the bathroom.

 

“Nah, don’t care,” Chuck said. He liked to think of himself as pretty low-maintenance, at least in terms of material goods. Having to pack all his worldly possessions into a backpack and carry it halfway across Wyoming did that to a guy. He dug around in his backpack, pulling out a black tank top and basketball shorts to sleep in. “If there’s good barbecue around here, I wouldn’t mind, but no drama if not.”

 

“Define barbecue,” Yancy said while Raleigh rooted in his bag for his own toothbrush. He pulled out his well worn sleeping shirt, as well, and frowned because he hadn’t brought any separate shorts. “I mean, do you want, like, ribs and coleslaw, or…?”

Raleigh nudged him out of the bathroom to take care of his own stuff and watched as Yancy just stripped down to his boxers right in front of Chuck.

 

Well, Chuck thought, if that was okay… He also started undressing, pulling his shirt off and his tank top on, and then shimmying out of his jeans. For the sake of propriety, he wore his basketball shorts over his boxers, and folded his clothing before tucking it back into his backpack.

“Yeah, that works,” he said as he got undressed. “Pulled pork or whatever, ribs are good. For some reason we take our barbecue real serious in Oz, it’s one of the only things I miss.”

 

“Great,” Yancy said, and he flopped in bed next to Tendo. “I mean, it won’t be the same, I’m sure, but as long as you’re not looking for...damn, he took his shoes off. I was looking forward to drawing a dick on his face.”

“Can we not do that?” Raleigh asked, rubbing a washcloth over his face and then smiling when he stepped out of the room to see Chuck had at least changed. “Can we just...this year, not draw dicks on faces?” He shook his head - Yancy, Tendo, and the Weis had gone at it all summer last year.

“You are just mad because you fell victim to it,” Yancy said, and grinned. Raleigh shook his head. He had not been happy to wake up to find an arrow pointing to his ass crack and the words “insert here” written alongside it.

 

Chuck snorted. “At home, first thing we do when we walk into a party is take off our shoes. Safer that way.” He slipped past Raleigh to get into the bathroom, letting his hand brush against Raleigh’s as he walked past to show that he wasn’t really angry anymore. He was cooling off, and knew that Raleigh hadn’t meant anything malicious by it.

Still seemed like a douche move to him, though.

 

Raleigh decided it would be best to let Chuck continue to cool off - and, besides, there wasn’t anything else he could really say. It would probably be for the best not to try and bring it up again. So instead he raised his eyebrows at Yancy and just about dared him to speak. “That’s probably prudent,” he said. “I didn’t even have shoes on, though, I don’t think?”

“You had a shoe on,” Yancy said. “It’s why you didn’t get a dick on your face.”

“Right,” Raleigh said. “Thanks for that consideration.” He flopped down onto the bed and then onto his stomach. It would be easier to keep to himself that way, since Chuck seemed opposed to cuddling.

 

Chuck emerged from the bathroom after a few minutes, and turned the light off before slipping into bed with Raleigh. He stayed over on his side, rolled over on his side facing away. Honestly, it wasn’t meant to be a slight - that was the way he normally slept. But it wasn’t really his problem if Raleigh decided to overanalyze his actions, which might not even happen anyway.

“Night,” he said, pulling the blanket right up below his chin. “If there’re any dicks on my face in the morning, I’m punching both of you.”

 

Raleigh took the opportunity to spread himself out a bit further - if Chuck wasn’t going to take up that much space, then he was going to arrange himself like he usually did, too. Yancy generally characterized this as _crime zone outline._

“I feel like that’s unfair,” Yancy said. “You would have no way to prove that it wasn’t Tendo. Fucker’s probably faking it.”

“Go to sleep, Yancy,” Raleigh said.

 

“Fine then, I’ll punch all three of you,” Chuck said, as if he were offering some grand compromise.

 

“And if you draw a dick on his face I will kick you in the nuts,” Raleigh added, because Yancy would.

“You are both no fun,” Yancy muttered.


	3. Chapter 3

When Chuck was paddling his kayak up to the shore, he glanced up and saw Yancy stretched out on his back on a beach towel, wearing some pretty douchey sunglasses and an equally terrible pair of plaid board shorts.

He dug his oar into the water, halting his movement. And then sighed and kept moving forward, figuring he couldn’t avoid this forever.

The obnoxious Becket brother. Fantastic.

“You looking for lessons, mate?” he asked as he climbed out of his kayak and dragged it up onto land. “I’m gonna charge you, ya kna, we’re not close enough for you to get it for free.”

 

Yancy grinned as he saw Chuck approaching. He figured he would intercept him at some point during his regularly scheduled tanning hours - he was endeavoring to advance to a color that might be considered pale, rather than corpse-like. Fuck Raleigh and his easy to-tan skin. And biceps. He got the best of just about everything, the little shit.

He was pleasantly surprised when Chuck actually pulled himself up onto land. He had figured he would just engage him from the water so that he had an easy getaway if he needed it.

“This is my fourth summer,” Yancy said. “You think I don’t know how to kayak?”

 

“Yeah, that question was completely sincere and not at all sarcastic,” Chuck said. He pulled off his life-vest, which Herc demanded he wear in case any campers saw him and got ideas, and then set about preparing all the kayaks for the next lesson, heaving them down to the water’s edge from their spot on higher ground.

He pushed the sleeves of his long-sleeve shirt up to his elbows. “Is there something you _are_ looking for, then?”

 

Yancy grinned at Chuck and pulled his sunglasses up so that he could meet Chuck’s eyes. Was Chuck not aware that he was aware of his sarcasm? Did he not think other people could detect it?

“Not particularly, no,” he said. “I am attempting to work on my tan, but…” he waved his hand over his body, indicating that his attempts were largely for naught. “Well, I am getting my Vitamin D, I suppose. I guess only one of us can get a healthy glow.” He nodded his head towards Raleigh, who was walking up and down the deck, his life guard shorts pulled low and exposing his deltoids.

 

Chuck turned and shot a seemingly disinterested glance at Raleigh before turning back to Yancy. Completely ignoring that last sentence, he snorted. “Preaching to the choir here. Why d’you think I wear a shirt out there? Sun off the water - wouldn’t bake me so much as fry me.”

 

Yancy resisted the urge to shake his head at Chuck - like Yancy didn’t get regular reports from Tendo about just how often he caught Chuck looking in Raleigh’s direction. Yancy particularly liked how he’d nearly run into a camper, one time.

“It’s good that you’re looking out for yourself, at such a young age,” Yancy said. “That’s smart, Hansen.”

 

Chuck scowled. As Yancy knew, he’d been faking nonchalance, though he would never get bored of looking at Raleigh’s body in those shorts, the way it shone gold in the sunlight, and the sharp cut of his hipbones … Jesus Christ.

But he didn’t like being made fun of by Yancy. He always felt like the butt of one of Yancy’s jokes. Every sentence that came out of the wanker’s mouth dripped with smug self-satisfaction, and Chuck knew he was always the punchline, just from the gleam of Yancy’s eyes as he smiled at him.

Unfortunately, it hadn’t worked. Yancy just found another joke to make at his expense, and Chuck was getting pretty fucking sick of it. “Yeah, well,” he said shortly. “We all have our gifts, don’t we. I guess mine is brains, and yours is - wait, never mind, being an obnoxious cunt isn’t actually a good thing.”

 

 _And there it is,_ Yancy thought. He’d been poking Chuck for long enough, he knew that it was bound to happen.

“Chuck, that hurts,” Yancy said. “Cunt, yes, but obnoxious? Give me some more credit.” He put his hand to his chest and shook his head. “Especially since I’m letting Raleigh take my car in two days when we’re off, putting myself at the mercy of Choi.” He arched an eyebrow.

 

“If you kept the car, would you leave me the fuck alone? Cuz I’d think about that, really I would.” He grimaced as he dragged another kayak into place, knuckles white on the handhold, jaw clenched to keep himself under control. “Your brother’s a hot fuck and all, but you, Becket - you’re something else.”

 

Yancy turned his head, slightly. He knew that Chuck didn’t appreciate him - but, goodness. He remembered what Raleigh had told him from his conversation with Mako and he squeezed his eyes shut. He wasn’t sure how he felt about Chuck. But Raleigh seemed fairly enamored, judging from the way he’d been doing his best not to set him off when they were able to interact over the past five or six days. Which meant he’d be spending some time with Chuck, too, unless Raleigh got tired of spending his time on egg shells.

“If you want me to leave you the fuck alone, I’ll leave you the fuck alone,” he said. “I didn’t realize I was that, well, obnoxious.” If he was going to go dark for awhile, though, he supposed he should get the big brotherly thing out of the way. Or...not. “Seems Raleigh and I are doomed to exist in a dichotomy - one rubs you the right way, one rubs you the wrong way.”

He bent over and picked up his towel.

 

“Oi, don’t act like you’re -” Chuck started, whipping around. “It’s not like you’ve been this nice guy and I’m just taking it wrong. Don’t pretend like you’ve been making an effort with me, except for your concerted effort to piss me the fuck off.”

Yancy was so full of shit, acting like Chuck was some oversensitive pussy who couldn’t take a joke. Well - maybe, but … But Yancy wasn’t exactly laughing _with_ him. More that he was acting like Chuck was freaking out over nothing, when they both knew that Yancy had been a little shit to him since day one.

 

Oh, Chuck, Yancy thought. He had been young once, though. He glanced back because he got that tingle - and, yeah, Raleigh was watching them. Looked like he was about to jump in the lake, swim over, and drag Yancy away from Chuck.

Kid had it bad. Chuck must have been fucking phenomenal in bed. Chuck must have… Yancy couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows as he finally put it together. He’d known Raleigh was planning on going all the way with Chuck on their next day off with how bright red he’d turned when he’d asked for the car, but…Chuck must have indicated he was going to blow Raleigh’s mind and backed up the assertion, somehow. It made him feel a bit better - so Raleigh wasn’t completely smitten and beholden to Chuck’s moods. He just really wanted a dick in his ass.

“Hardly,” he said. “Though I wouldn’t say it was a concentrated effort to piss you the fuck off. More just a mix of, you know, general sarcasm, desire to irritate, brotherly concern, and my natural douche-baggy nature.”

 

“So can we try for more of the sarcasm and less of the _why yes, Chuck, I_ am _an enormous tool_ ,” Chuck said, pursing his lips. “And, uh, how does desire to irritate, brotherly concern, and douchebaggery not add up to concerted effort in that vapid little head of yours?”

He didn’t like the way Yancy was looking at him, all knowing and shit. He very rarely liked the way Yancy looked at him. Yancy was such a fucking wanker. Chuck understood that Raleigh was obligated to love him because of blood relation, but he couldn’t fathom what it was Mako saw in him. At least Tendo was a douchebag too, so their friendship made sense. Mako was an outlier though.

She did get pretty smug when she wanted to, he reflected.

Man, this camp sucked.

 

“You’re right,” Yancy said. There was no point, anymore - he’d gone, like, one quarter of the way there and Chuck had made no effort to meet him. “My math was probably shit. You’re the one at MIT, after all.”

He picked up his towel and put his sunglasses back on his face. Good thing he didn’t have to spend the next day off with Chuck - though, really, the last one hadn’t been bad. They’d gone into the nearby town so the girls could get some things they hadn’t been able to really pack in England/Denmark/wherever the fuck they had found Sasha, went to a local beachfront, got some barbeque, drank, and Chuck had been...sort of well behaved?

Whatever. He walked past the dock and nearly had Raleigh smack right into him. He dodged just in time and Raleigh stumbled, for a second, before regaining his balance. “Yance, you better not have-”

“What?” Yancy asked. “Pissed him off or else he won’t…” he glanced around for young, impressionable minds, “fuck you tomorrow night?”

“Yance-” Raleigh began to turn a little bit red and looked around, both for Chuck and children.

“I know you’ve noticed, because you’ve been acting like it all week, but he’s got quite the irrational temperament,” Yancy said. “But, hey, I get it - you want-”

“Oh, how do you know?” Raleigh asked, and he narrowed his eyes.

Yancy shrugged. He was not getting into it. He had coil pots to make. “Whatever, Rals,” he said.

 

* * *

 

Chuck made it through his lessons without cursing out any children or trying to drown himself, which he considered a testament to his excellent self-control. He may have scowled a little darker than normal, and afterwards some of his campers had to assure the others that he wouldn’t _actually_ commit acts of unspeakable violence on them, but everyone was allowed to have an off-day once in a while, right?

He didn’t know why he was so angry, really. Mostly just - where did Yancy get off, acting like he’d been so mature and Chuck was an irrational child about all of it? He’d been goading Chuck like a boy pulling a girl’s pigtails - well, bad metaphor, but still - and Chuck had never been the one to initiate any antagonism between them.

Seriously. What a tool.

Being condescended to was probably Chuck’s very least favorite thing in the whole world, and he was snappy and irritable for the rest of the day, nigh-silent as he herded his campers to the mess hall for dinner. As soon as they were in bed and asleep, he went to sit on the steps outside and throw a ball to Max in the dim light of the lamp hanging over the cabin door.

He needed some decompression time with his dog.

 

Fuck, what was his life? Raleigh wondered. _But, Raleigh, if you don’t get my goggles back my mom will get real mad at me! Raaaaaaaaleigh_! It had taken a lot not to just put his hands on Wexler’s shoulders and tell him that his mom could afford camp, she could afford to overnight him a new pair of goggles, and, furthermore, he did not need goggles in the lake and no fish were going to swim into his eyeballs.

So now he had a flashlight and was walking all of the possible paths little Wexler could have taken this afternoon to see if he could find them. He supposed it was better than having to settle them all down to sleep, but still.

A tennis ball flew in front of him. He shook his head. “OK, who snuck out?” he asked. “Probably not a good idea to throw tennis balls at a counselor, if you’re trying to hide.”

 

Recognising Raleigh’s voice, Chuck looked up. “‘m not hiding,” he called, voice flat. “Wanna get the ball for Max? He doesn’t have the best night vision.” In fact, he would just bumble around in the dark for a few minutes before forgetting what he was looking for, so it was best all around if Raleigh just found the ball with his flashlight and tossed it back.

 

“Oh, hey,” Raleigh said. He heard Max making a huffing sound nearby. He didn’t know why Chuck persisted in throwing the ball for Max, since generally he tended to forget exactly what they were doing halfway through and just roll around in the grass happily instead. “I thought you were a kid, sorry.” He glanced around with the flashlight for a moment, found the ball, and tossed it back to Chuck. “Max hasn’t happened to bring you a pair of neon green goggles by any chance?”

 

“Nah,” Chuck said, tossing the ball from hand to hand. He set it down, whistling Max over to rub him behind the ears. Max settled beside him, tongue lolling from his mouth. He seemed to be in a much better mood than Chuck. Chuck envied his simple-minded contentment.

 

“Goddamnit,” Raleigh said, approaching Chuck - with caution, because he could tell that he wasn’t a good mood. He also had the distinct sense that one Yancy Becket was the cause. “Mind if I sit for a second?” He shone his flashlight on the spot on the steps next to Max.

 

Chuck glanced down at the beam of light. “Go for your life,” he said, voice still flat, almost toneless. “But I gotta warn you, you might not want to. I know you don’t wanna hear me say anything bad about your Other Half.” Absently, he wondered if this would be the time he pushed Raleigh too far, and showed that he wasn’t worth the effort, even if he did promise good sex. Insulting Raleigh’s brother seemed to be a sure way of doing that.

 

Oh, boy, he had his cranky-pants on tonight, Raleigh thought, though there was something else in Chuck’s tone that suggested… “Weell,” he said, and scrunched at Max’s ears. For a brief second he let his hand overlap with Chuck’s - not that any passing child would see it, in this light, but if they did they wouldn’t think it was anything. Though that might lead them to shout _GAY_ without knowing it, but...well, that was a whole other thing. “Um, he’s been in rare form lately, I’ll give him that.”

 

“Yeah, sure,” Chuck said. He didn’t move away from Raleigh, but he didn’t shift any closer either, and showed no reaction to the brush of their hands. “So you’re tryna tell me that him acting like a huge douche is abnormal? I’m not sure I buy it.”

 

Raleigh sighed. He was not getting in the middle of this - no, he didn’t want to be in the middle of this, but he was, because for some reason his older brother saw fit to...whatever it was he was doing to Chuck. Raleigh wasn’t even sure, he hadn’t really seen either of them interact, except for a few times on their actual day off, but that seemed to have been OK. A little ribbing, back and forth, but that was how things sort of went. “Well, huge maybe. Generally he manages moderate levels of douchery, but…”

 

“I wouldn’t mind if it was just douchiness,” Chuck said, scowling at his hands. “Hell, I know I’m hard to get along with, you don’t have to tell me. But his reaction when I called him out on it - what, acting all innocent, like he had no idea what I was on about. And like - like he’s got the moral high ground, or whatever.” Saying it out loud made him feel stupid, and he sighed, looking down. “Just tell your brother to stop patronizing me and I won’t be as pissed off at him.”

 

Raleigh wasn’t sure if Yancy had done exactly that - Chuck did take things a bit personally, sometimes, but it also wasn’t like his brother was the easiest person to get along with. “Yeah, that doesn’t sound too surprising,” he allowed. “Especially the moral high ground thing.” It was more a smarmy thing, actually, that came from being smart and just generally really, really good at most things. “I’ll let him know, but, uh...well, if I could control him…” He gave Chuck a slight smile and shrugged his shoulders.

 

“Fuck, whatever,” Chuck said, flapping his hand. “Just know, if I have to spend any more time with him, and he acts like a smug shit and all, I can’t be held accountable for my actions.” He carded his fingers through his hair. “I’ll go in Tendo’s car next time, or whatever.”

He wasn’t going to ask Raleigh to choose between Chuck and Yancy, half because he wasn’t that kind of asshole, and half because he already knew who would win that one. And that was perfectly fine. Raleigh would seek out Chuck when he wanted to get laid, and spend all of his social hours with Yancy, and that was totally, completely fine.

 

“Oh, no, I meant…” Raleigh looked down at Max, who seemed to understand, at least. _Sorry my dad is difficult,_ his expression said. _Please still be his friend?_ “If I could control him, I would make him, you know, behave himself when he was amongst others. I guess, being brothers, there’s a lot you just...you know, instead of being someone just meeting him, you don’t realize how he acts, sometimes, if that makes sense. And, besides, like I said - I have to deal with his dumb ass all the time, Chuck, and...I mean, not that I can make him ride in Tendo’s car, but if I could, I would, because, like I said...you know what, I am going to stop talking.” Max seemed to nod his head. Raleigh sighed.

 

Chuck stared at Raleigh for a second. Then he laughed, and if the sound was small, at least it was genuine. “Mate, I have absolutely no idea what you were trying to get at there.” He shook his head. “I’m just - all I’m saying is, I’m not going out of my way to spend time with him. You don’t have to do anything for my sake.”

 

“Um, I would try and explain myself but I think that will just probably - I might have got sun poisoning, maybe?” Raleigh said. “Actually, what I meant was, I would do things for your sake.” He decided to be pre-emptive, here, because this could be down the rabbit hole. _Good call, mate,_ Max said, and you know? If he thought the dog was talking to him he maybe did need to spend some time in the shade. “Anyway, I have try and go find Billy Wexler’s goggles, so. Have a good evening?”

 

Chuck was grateful for the darkness of the night around them, because he could feel himself blushing at that line of Raleigh’s - and really, who said things like that? He smiled, almost against his will, and caught Raleigh’s hand to tug him down for a brief, glancing kiss, impressionable children be damned. “You too,” he said as he drew away.

 

Well, that was pleasantly unexpected and...really nice. Hopefully not damaging to anyone’s childhood. Definitely really nice. Especially since that had been one of the dumber things he had ever said in his efforts to woo someone.

“I will now,” Raleigh said. “Although that kid might bite me if I don’t find his goggles.” He smiled at Chuck, even though he felt a little shy. Then he clicked his flashlight back on and headed off into the darkness.

 

* * *

 

Raleigh checked his bag. Condoms, lube, change of underwear, toothbrush, cash for the hotel, more lube just in case, spare t-shirt. He was good. He hoped. Oh, and car keys. Booze they would get on the way. Yancy and Tendo had already taken off, so they would avoid a boat ride over with them. Everything seemed set.

He looked at himself in the mirror. No mysterious flesh wounds. He nodded his head and swallowed, then smiled.

He did his best to look nonchalant as he walked towards the docks - not like someone who was already going to spend his second only day off with just one other person. He felt like everyone, knew, though. It was his biggest issue with camp. One person saw Yancy head off without him, and it would take all of five minutes for all of boy’s camp to be made aware of it.

Thankfully he made it to the dock without anyone saying anything, and Chuck was there waiting for him. Good timing, too, since Aleksis was pulling the boat back up for them.

“Hey,” he said.

 

Chuck looked up from his book. He closed it, using his thumb to keep his page. “Hey,” he said, pushing off the post he had been leaning against.

 

Raleigh looked at Chuck and sort of smiled and fuck, he was acting like one of the fourteen year-olds at their first social with the girls.

“You two are coming, or..?” Aleksis asked.

He pressed his lips together, urging himself not to laugh or blush or… “Yeah, big guy,” he said, and he hopped onto the boat. Chuck followed and sat across from him. Raleigh did his best to look normal the whole way across, but he felt like he had sort of a dopey grin on his face for most of the trip.

 

Chuck raised his eyebrows, amused. “You look like you snorted cotton candy and bubble gum,” he said, which made little sense but he felt got the point across. “Jesus, I hope I’m not a disappointment.”

He wasn’t too worried, but eh - He kind of had a lot to prove here. Mostly that he was worth Raleigh giving up his day off, when he could be spending it with one Yancy ‘ _I am an enormous tool_ ’ Becket.

 

“I think snorting cotton candy and bubble gum would probably be unpleasant,” Raleigh said, unlocking the car. It was incredibly hot inside - why had Yancy parked it in the direct sun? Was this some sort of fuck you to him for asking for the car? “Uh, that is...that is unpleasant - you mind reaching back and rolling down the window?”

 

“Yeah,” Chuck said, twisting in his seat to do that, shirt riding up in the effort and baring a strip of his lower belly. “Can we get something to eat before hitting the hotel? I reckon I should carbo-load a little.” He smirked. “No one’s a good fuck on an empty stomach.”

 

Raleigh looked at the strip of flesh that Chuck had just flashed him, then at Chuck. “Yeah, sure,” he said. “I thought we could go to Lake Placid? So there are plenty of places on the way.” He waited until Chuck was seated and then leaned in and kissed him on the lips. Then he slid into the driver’s seat and turned the car on.

 

Chuck shrugged. “Fine with me. You paying? You gonna open doors for me and gimme your lettermen jacket?” he teased, because he was in a much lighter mood than he’d been recently, which manifested in a lot of good-natured mockery.

 

“Chuck,” Raleigh said, pulling out of the parking lot and smiling, “I think, given the circumstances, that you are the one who is supposed to be giving me the lettermen jacket.” It was good that Chuck seemed in a bit of a better mood - Raleigh was actually a little exhausted and it was about a one hour drive into Lake Placid.

 

“Well, I never,” Chuck drawled. “Such internalized homophobia, Raleigh Becket. Liking getting the brains fucked outta your head doesn’t make you any less of a man, sweetheart. Or didn’t you know?” After all, Chuck would _happily_ bend over for Raleigh’s eight-inch dick, and he was as much of a tough, masculine guy as anyone.

 

“Really?” Raleigh said. “Wow, this is. Just. My whole worldview has changed. Thanks, Chuck!” He looked over at Chuck for a second and...hmmm. Not that he minded fucking someone, it’s just that he’d always been sort of made to feel obligated to do it. Chuck, though.

 

“Anytime, sugarplum.” Chuck said with a shit-eating grin. “So like, no shame, yeah? When I’m making you scream my name, and all.” He reached over and squeezed Raleigh’s thigh, just above his knee.

 

Raleigh swerved, slightly, and then grinned. “Oh, no, no danger of shame,” he said. “Completely unrelatedly, I am an easily distracted driver, so, um…” He winced.

 

“No roadhead, then? That’s too bad.” Chuck said, pitching his voice low and rumbling. He was mostly kidding, although he had to admit, the idea intrigued him. Not if Raleigh was going to drive them into a tree, though.

 

“Ah, probably not,” Raleigh said, and frowned. Definitely not worth hitting oncoming traffic for, though it was a close call. “Sadly. Um, you want to put some music on?”

They listened to music and talked the rest of the drive - mostly about the campers and the stupid shit that they did. Raleigh was relieved that Yancy didn’t come up. “What are you in the mood for?” he asked, as they pulled into Lake Placid. “There’s just about everything - um, there’s a pretty good little hot dog and ice cream stand near the hotel I booked us in at.” He had used his free period yesterday to make reservations - he wanted somewhere that wasn’t pricey, but that was also fairly decent.

 

Chuck glanced over, mildly surprised. He hadn’t known that Raleigh had put actual planning into this. His plan had just been to show up and… Huh.

“Hot dogs are good,” he said. “Not exactly date food though. Next time I want candlelight and roses.” He hoped Raleigh knew he was kidding.

 

“That could be arranged,” Raleigh said, and he grinned and parked the car at the hotel. “Let me just go in and get things set up and then we can go and eat?” _Fuck, sort of,_ he thought, because he had packed a blanket for them to eat their hot dogs down by the lake in case all of the picnic benches were full. “I will be right back.”

 

Either Raleigh was trying too hard, or Chuck had never tried hard enough in any of his previous relationships. Or both. Chuck wasn’t sure how to respond to this, and while being taken care of - the only parallel he could think of was how he took care of Max - was a little strange, it wasn’t a bad kind of strange. Unless Raleigh tried to open doors for him and pay for everything and shit like that.

Chuck wasn’t a medieval lady. He didn’t need, or want, chivalry.

“I’ll be here with bells on,” he said, flipping open his book to the dog-eared page and immersing himself in it.

 

No blanket, Raleigh figured, and got two keys for their hotel room. He knocked on Chuck’s window when he got back. “It’s just right down by the lake,” he said. “You can see some of the Olympic stuff, on the other side.” He waved his hand - he had loved Lake Placid the first time he had come up here for a day off. He wanted to save up enough one day to go for a bobsled ride.

“Here’s your key,” he said, and handed it to Chuck.

 

Chuck stepped out of the car and stretched, rolling his shoulders. “Miracle, right?” he said. “Fun movie. I jacked off once thinking about the goalie.”

This was, he reflected, perhaps too much information. Especially because Raleigh seemed to have some rather more delicate sensibilities than Chuck, and Americans were notoriously prudish, and - Eh, Raleigh should know what he was getting himself into.

 

“Oh, yeah,” Raleigh said. He got a fond look in his eyes. “He was pretty hot - not exactly my, uh, general preference but…” He nodded his head.

The line was short, and he glanced at Chuck as they waited and then decided it would probably be best to just order separately. He reached for his wallet when he was done to pay for his footlong and fries.

 

Chuck smoothly stepped in and nudged him to the side. “I’ve got his,” he told the cashier, ordering for himself and then paying the full check for both their meals. He took the soda cup the cashier offered and went to go fill it with Coke.

 

Raleigh swallowed and then followed Chuck over to the beverage dispenser to get some Seven-up. That was completely unexpected, but - definitely good. He wanted them to have a good time, not just in bed, but...together.

Even though Chuck was prickly, and kind of a douche, he was also - there was something that Raleigh really liked about him, too. He kind of even liked that he was difficult. _You are such an idiot,_ he thought to himself.

“Thanks,” he said, holding onto the ticket for their meal.

 

“Yeah,” Chuck said. He figured he should make more of an effort, if only so he didn’t look so bad in comparison to Raleigh.

He took a napkin and began folding it in precise creases. It wasn’t quite stiff enough, but after a minute, he had a passable rose in his hand, which he offered to Raleigh. “I can make a candle too, but not with these shit quality napkins. May have to wait on that one.”

 

“Oh,” Raleigh said, and he felt himself blush slightly. “Thanks, that’s…” He leaned over and kissed Chuck, taking his hand to Chuck’s jaw to turn him to get the right angle. “Thanks. Maybe not a candle, though? Don’t need to, uh, burn anything down…”

 

“Origami candle, Rals,” Chuck said, laughing against Raleigh’s lips. “Unless you’re making a joke about how smoking hot I am, but don’t be that guy.” He pulled away, but kept his fingers entwined in the hem of Raleigh’s shirt, just to have a little contact.

 

“Oh, right,” Raleigh said. He leaned into the touch and smiled at Chuck. “I thought you were going to light them...nevermind. Oh, that’s our order…” Chuck was smoking hot, though. He was even more freckled than when Raleigh first met him and he had some highlights in his hair from the sun. “You want to grab a table? I will get the food?”

 

“Sure,” Chuck said, releasing Raleigh with a slight smile. He walked to a table in a particularly sunny area, sweeping some leaves off the table and settling onto the bench. He rested on his elbows, comfortable and - and kind of happy, which didn’t happen often when he wasn’t around Max or extreme sports equipment or architecture proofs. His smile widened when Raleigh sat down across from him, dimples flashing. “You know all the good places, huh? Three years at my old man’s camp, got some experience in town. What are you gonna show me next?”

 

Raleigh debated about the next one - but they had pretty much been bantering the entire way, and, yes, it was stupid and sort of a pun, but it was also right in front of him. So he slid his hotdog so that it was in Chuck’s view and gave him a big smile. “I thought my foot long,” he said, and did his very best not to laugh at the end of the statement.

 

Chuck choked on air, and then had to duck his head and press his hand over his mouth to keep from laughing. When he finally looked up, he had mastered his smile into a stern line, though it wavered at the corners, matching his twinkling eyes. “ _No_ ,” he said emphatically. “Bad Rals. I should spank you for that.”

 

“Not in public,” Raleigh hissed, and he grinned at Chuck - though here it was, happening again. Raleigh didn’t understand why people were always comparing him to dogs, or puppies. Although, with Chuck, it might have something to do with his symbiotic relationship with Max. “I couldn’t help it - it was _right_ there.”

 

Chuck shook his head, taking a long pull of his soda. “Besides, don’t flatter yourself,” he said, and stuffed some fries into his mouth. “You may be big, but you’re no foot-long, mate.” That was a good thing, he thought. Eight inches was more than enough, he wouldn’t know what to do with twelve.

 

“No, this is true,” Raleigh said. He took a bite of his hot dog. He was aware he could have made that salacious, but one hot dog as dick allusion was probably enough for the evening After he swallowed, he said. “We can go and see some of the Olympic venues tomorrow. Or walk about Whiteface - it’s not hard, by any means, but the views are great at the top.”

 

Chuck shrugged. “I’ll trust your judgment.” He looked thoughtful as he ate his own hot dog. “Is there any serious rock climbing around here? All I’ve seen is that measly climbing wall at camp.”

 

“Oh, I’m sure there is,” Raleigh said. “I’ve never looked into it - I don’t really, uh, climb. But I bet we could find something.” He swallowed, though - he wasn’t exactly great with heights. He’d be happy to accompany Chuck to some venue, maybe even play around the bunny hill equivalent. But he probably wouldn’t take on anything serious.

 

“That, or hang gliding, free diving, cliff diving, bungee jumping, sky diving…” Chuck set his chin on his hand, looking wistful. “I need some excitement in my life.”

 

“Plenty of adventure stuff around,” Raleigh said. Bungee jumping, he might be able to manage. He would at least be attached to something. “Weis found some really good cliffs last year, actually,” he said. “Don’t know if they’d be exciting enough for you, but...it was a decent hike and then a pretty good drop.” Raleigh had just run, closed his eyes, and prayed. He almost mentioned how Yancy got bit by the black widow coming out and got incredibly sick from it, but then stopped. Definitely no need to bring Yancy into things.

 

Chuck perked up. “That’s not bad,” he said. “Really wish I could do freediving, but this ain’t exactly the right locale for it. Water’s a little cold for that.” He shrugged and ate another handful of fries. “This is good,” he added. “I’m not normally a hot dog person, either.”

 

“Oh?” Raleigh said, trying to figure out exactly what freediving is. “Water’s actually about sixty-eight, which is pretty nice...some lakes might be warmer.” He smiled and collected the trash from his finished meal in the corner of his tray. One more hot dog allusion. “And you could have had me fooled about the hot dogs.”

 

Chuck shot him a flat look. “You’re pushing your luck, Becket,” he said, even as he nudged his foot up against Raleigh’s under the table.

 

“I’m aware,” Raleigh said. “You set? Sufficiently carb-loaded?” He glanced down at Chuck’s empty tray - Raleigh ate a lot, because of all the swimming he did, but Chuck must have had a furnace for a metabolism.

 

“For now,” Chuck said. “We may have to call for room service later, ‘cause I’m not letting you out of bed for hours.” After delivering that casual statement, he stood up, picking up his tray. “Shall we?”

 

Raleigh nodded, perhaps a little bit too eagerly, and then gathered his own tray and took it over to the trash. He nudged Chuck gently with his shoulder as they turned to head back to the hotel and returned the dimpled smile that he got in response.

Thankfully their room wasn’t too far. Raleigh put the key in and opened the door with a little bit of a flourish.

 

Chuck smirked and swaggered past him, sitting at the foot of the bed and leaning his weight back on his arms. “So tell me, Raaahleigh. You been thinking about this?”

He thought he knew the answer to that, both from the looks Raleigh had been shooting him and the exasperated eye rolls he would get from Mako when she noticed. And she had only seen them for like, two hours, when the camps had met up for a movie screening on the lawn. Chuck couldn’t imagine how annoying it must have been for Yancy.

Bitch deserved it.

 

Raleigh watched as Chuck spread himself out over the bed, emphasizing those broad shoulders and biceps of his. “I...yeah,” he said, and walked slowly towards Chuck. He stood in front of him and leaned in for a slight, smooth kiss. “A lot, actually,” he said. “Might have to have taken a late night shower or two…”

 

The mental image made Chuck’s smile grow, gaze dirty and half-lidded. “Keep talking,” he said, towing Raleigh closer with a finger hooked in his collar. He slid his hands up Raleigh’s shirt, scraping blunt fingernails down his stomach. Such pretty abs, they deserved to be marked up, lines of pale red that may as well have proclaimed ‘Chuck was here’ in block letters.

 

Raleigh groaned as Chuck slid his fingers along his stomach with just the right amount of pressure. “Got hard thinking about what you said,” he said, voice both high and thick at the same time. “About...pinning me down, and...tearing me apart, so I had to go and do it…”

He grabbed his shirt and tugged it off as Chuck’s finger scraped down towards his jeans.

 

“Good, that’s so good,” Chuck said hoarsely. He leaned forward and licked a stripe over his fingernail marks, sucking and nibbling at the slight abrasions. “Hey, Rals?” he mumbled into the skin, gradually moving lower and lower down his abdomen. “I gotta question. Well, more of a request, actually.”

 

“OK,” Raleigh stammered. He shivered at the attention and the cool air hitting the strip of flesh that Chuck had just licked. “What is it?”

 

“I was wondering if I could tie you up,” Chuck said, his tone casual but the pitch of his voice gone low and rough. “Just your hands, to the headboard. And I’d let you go as soon as you said the word. But - I can make you feel so good, love.”

That one was a bit of a carry-over from his last relationship, as it was the only term of endearment he and his girlfriend could agree on. But he liked the sound of it on his lips, and he’d grown accustomed to it. Hopefully Raleigh didn’t read too much into it.

 

Raleigh’s tongue stuck out of his lips and he issued a low, deep sound. “Oh, fuck,” he said, because the mental image was overwhelming - him, spread out, and Chuck…He reached and ran a hand through Chuck’s hair and nodded his head. And he knew better than to think anything of the _love_ , beyond the fact that it was probably some kind of Aussie term of endearment. But it made him feel a little pit in his stomach regardless. “Yeah, absolutely,” he said.

 

“Fantastic,” Chuck said, almost an exhale. He pushed Raleigh back and turned them around so Raleigh was the one sitting on the bed and Chuck standing over him. “Stay here, alright?” he said, and went to fetch his bag.

He dug through it for a moment before pulling out a pair of handcuffs, padded on the inside to prevent chafing, and attached by means of velcro. Clearly, they weren’t meant to serve any other purpose.

Chuck knew he had thrown them into his bag when he was packing for camp for a reason.

“Remember,” he said, crawling over Raleigh and pushing him on his back. He arranged Raleigh’s hands above his head and began to fasten the cuffs around the wrists. “I’m gonna take care of you. So if you ever wanna stop, say the word. And -” He sat back on his haunches. “Fuck, you look…” He swallowed, unable to come up with the words for exactly how Raleigh looked.

It was a good look.

 

Raleigh held Chuck’s eyes as he loomed over him, still fully clothed but with this look on his face that was even better than Raleigh had imagined when he had stroked himself. He swallowed and tugged at the handcuffs, satisfied - not too tight, and his arms weren’t going to get stuck in an awkward position.

“What’s the word?” he asked.

 

“Your choice,” Chuck said. “Something you’ll remember.” He reached out and trailed his nails over Raleigh’s chest, now teasingly light, just a brush of his fingertips over Raleigh’s nipples.

 

“Eureka,” Raleigh said, not entirely sure where it came from. Probably something to do with Chuck’s fingers on his nipples. And fuck, he was already hard, just from this - he’d never been tied up before, and this felt good. Really good. He shifted, trying to get his cock away from his fly.

 

Chuck could feel every minute shift of Raleigh’s body, and he looked down, smiling. He moved off of Raleigh’s thighs and undid his pants, taking care as he pulled them down his thighs not to snag against anything. He stripped Raleigh naked, and then stood over him, just taking in the view.

The position made his abs stand out even more starkly, and his entire body was one long, beautiful buffet for Chuck to consume at his leisure. “You’re… Christ, Raleigh.” He undid his own fly and curled his hand around his cock through his boxers, stroking slowly, just to take the edge off. “I’m gonna take you apart, make you regret every person you ever fucked because they weren’t me.”

 

Raleigh nodded slowly as Chuck spoke. Chuck’s voice was deep, almost soothing, and he watched as Chuck stroked his own cock through his pants.

There was a part of him that felt exposed - but in a very good way - laid out naked behind Chuck while he still mostly had his pants on. At least his shirt was off and Raleigh could take in those obscene broad shoulders.

“Yeah, I...fuck,” Raleigh managed as Chuck looked him up and down. Definitely exposed. He moaned as his cock twitched slightly.

 

Only because he didn’t want to scrape Raleigh’s skin with his jeans did Chuck step out of his pants, but part of him was sorry for it, because there was something hot about being clothed when Raleigh wasn’t. He compromised by leaving on his boxer briefs.

He climbed onto the bed and straddled Raleigh’s waist, settling down with Raleigh’s cock pressed against his ass. He twisted Raleigh’s nipple, harder than before, and admired the red marks that still lit up his chest. “You should keep talking,” he said. “I like it when you talk. Tell me what you want me to do next. If you ask nice enough, maybe I’ll do it.”

 

“I want, fuck,” Raleigh said, and he did his best not to smile - he liked talking too, and he hated when he felt like he had to keep quiet. “I like how you feel when you’re straddling me like this, when you twist my - uh, like that! - and just, I want you to just...touch me, I...please?”

He really wanted to reach and touch Chuck’s cock in his boxer briefs. The hard length was straining against the cotton and it was just...Raleigh pressed his lips together and squirmed a little bit, trying to get more contact for his own cock against Chuck’s ass.

 

“You’re so pretty when you’re desperate for me,” Chuck said, licking his lower lip. He mapped out Raleigh’s chest with his fingertips, every valley and curve of the landscape, paying special attention to the peaks of his nipples. Then he scooted down so he was kneeling between Raleigh’s legs, and went to repeat the entire process with his tongue, laving it over the sharply cut lines of his hipbones. As he moved up Raleigh’s chest, clearly making a roundabout path until he was sucking at Raleigh’s nipples, he curled his hand over his cock and began pumping it lightly, teasingly, each stroke ending with a twist of his hand over the head.

 

 _Oh, fuck, fuck,_ Raleigh thought as Chuck’s tongue licked up his hipbones. He moaned out loud as Chuck licked at his nipples and stroked him slowly. _I am never going to be able to look Mako in the face again._ He felt himself blush, slightly, as Chuck’s hand twisted over his head. “Chuck, I - I’m not gonna...fuck, you feel so good, your mouth and...I-” He would probably feel more embarrassed, but he had been waiting a whole week for this with very little else to really think about. And Chuck was so fucking confident. Raleigh wanted to know how he managed it, where he had figured all of this out.

 _No, no, stop, brain,_ he thought, and he focused on the need that rapidly centering around his cock as Chuck’s tongue teased over his nipple. “Chuck!”

 

“Not gonna happen, Becket,” Chuck said with a dark chuckle, his free hand moving down. He wrapped his fingers around Raleigh’s balls, a shade too tight - a poor man’s cock ring, he thought. Raleigh wasn’t going to come until Chuck wanted him to.

He tightened his hand on Raleigh’s cock as well, though not to the point of discomfort. Just enough to make Raleigh’s pleasure swell and crest, though it wasn’t going to lead to any relief. Chuck had a healthy touch of sadism in bed. Not in a painful way, but he wanted to get Raleigh so strung out and desperate that he didn’t even know what he was saying when Chuck finally got his cock inside him.

He scraped his teeth against Raleigh’s swollen nipple. “You’re gonna have to beg for my fingers, you know,” he said. “Gonna have to ask me so nice even _I_ couldn’t say no.”

 

“Oh, fuck, yeah, I will,” Raleigh said as Chuck scraped his teeth against his nipple. The swell in his cock was just bordering on painful and nothing like he had ever felt before. A small part of him kind of objected to this - he was the older one, here, and this kid was just stringing him out - but, again, he just thought _shut up brain. This is going to be amazing._

Raleigh swallowed and met Chuck’s eyes. He had never really noticed how green they were before. “I will. Whatever you want.” God, it felt so good - he wanted to touch Chuck so badly, pull his hands along his side and kiss his mouth to show him how good this all felt. Instead, though, all he was able to do was babble. “Chuck, this is so, so fucking good.”

 

“Yeah, I know,” Chuck said, his laughter rumbling Raleigh’s chest where his mouth was pressed against it. “Told you I was gonna make you feel good.” He used his fingernail to score his name on Raleigh’s side, swiping his tongue over it as if he could taste the sound of it on his skin.

He scooted down more, so his breath washed over the head of Raleigh’s cock, which twitched at the puff of hot air. “Raleigh,” he said, biting his lower lip for a moment before blurting out, “Tell me about the last bloke who touched you like this. Tell me how much better it is, coming from me.” He wrapped his lips around Raleigh’s cock, running the tip of his tongue up the veins on the underside. Kept his fingers wrapped tightly around Raleigh’s balls, too, wanting to keep Raleigh teetering on the edge as long as he could.

He’d managed to keep his jealous side under wraps thus far, but having Raleigh at his mercy like this brought all his base animalistic tendencies bubbling to the surface, and he needed to hear that he had Raleigh totally _gone_ for him. Needed to know that he was the only person Raleigh was thinking about. Hell, it was the main reason he’d decided to get good at sex in the first place.

 

“Oh, oh, fuck!” Raleigh said, finally getting that sweet contact on his cock. Chuck’s mouth was soft and warm and then he was tugging at his balls, pulling him back - _perfect little shit,_ he thought. Suddenly he processed what Chuck had said before taking him his mouth and for a moment he wanted to knee Chuck in the head. A brief moment. He didn’t want to talk about his exes, the last time - he was here, with Chuck, and it was pretty clear that he was gagging for him.

Then he realized that Chuck was probably asking for that, just in a particularly douchey way. And it wasn’t like Raleigh didn’t know what he was getting into. “I - he didn’t touch me like this, nothing like this,” Raleigh said. He arched his hips a bit, wanting to get a little deeper in Chuck’s mouth - and he could afford him a bit, Raleigh figured, for asking something like that. “Nowhere near this good, the way you...fuck, I want you, Chuck…”

He hoped that was good enough - it was all true, anyway.

 

Before Raleigh could get any real satisfaction, though, Chuck had pulled off. He looked up from between Raleigh’s legs, grinning. “Alright, then,” he said in a near-purr. “You wanna fuck my mouth, Rals? Wanna get that fat dick of yours all the way down my throat? You’ve been good, so I’ll let you.” He absently ran his fingertip up Raleigh’s cock, just to see it twitch under his touch.

“And then, when you’ve come so hard you think you’re gonna die, I’ll finger you open while you’re still loose and relaxed. And you’re gonna get hard again for me while I fuck you with my fingers - and then, and only then, am I gonna let you have my cock.” He glanced down at his dick, which was straining so hard against the fabric of his boxer briefs it had probably stretched the elastic band beyond any use. “You think you can do that for me, love?”

 

“Yeah,” Raleigh said, holding Chuck’s eyes again and fuck. Just, fuck. Where had he - God, Mako had not been kidding. Raleigh felt a little inadequate, actually, and...well, it seemed like Chuck was pleased so far. He hoped. Still - he felt a twinge, for a moment, because there probably wasn’t going to be anything new or special he could do for Chuck. “Yeah, I...I can do that.”

He followed Chuck’s gaze to his dick and oh, that was nice - it was straining against the cotton of his briefs and very full and hard. Raleigh arched his hips, slightly, imagining that finally inside him.

 

“I know you can,” Chuck said, almost proudly. “You’ve been so good for me.” He pressed a soft kiss to Raleigh’s hipbone, then, with no further ado, sank his mouth down around Raleigh’s cock.

It was just as big as he remembered, and he had to distract himself from it because he knew if he thought too hard, he was going to gag. So he concentrated on other things - the gleam of sweat on Raleigh’s skin, the bright blue of his eyes, the sound of his voice - _ohh_ , the sound of his voice, that was better than a goddamn choir of angels.

He opened his throat, mouth slack, lips covering his teeth. Kept his fingers around Raleigh’s balls, but other than that, allowed Raleigh to fuck his face with total abandon. He encouraged it, even, curling his hand around Raleigh’s hip and pulling a little to show he wanted to feel Raleigh move with him.

Still, he wasn’t going to let Raleigh come. Not until Raleigh begged for it, not until he couldn’t even _think_ for wanting.

 

“Oh, my God, your mouth,” Raleigh said. He canted his hips along with the rhythm that Chuck was setting, getting deeper inside of him so that Chuck enveloped him. “You’re so, fuck, so good, Chuck, you’re perfect, I…Chuck!” Chuck’s fingers were kneading into his hip and he was still grasping his balls and, fuck, Raleigh needed- “I need, Chuck I need, please...you’re so good, and I...fuck!”

Was he even coherent at this point? “Please, Chuck, please!”

 

 _Uh uh, not yet_ , Chuck thought. He swallowed the saliva that was building up in his mouth, which had the effect of clenching his throat even tighter around Raleigh’s cock, and then hummed. The vibrations shot through Raleigh like an electric current. He pressed his own hips forward, fucking into the bed, because it would take a better man than he not to react to Raleigh’s voice right then. Christ, Chuck just needed some fucking pressure against his cock, and he moaned as he humped his hips against the bedspread, still making sure to keep his teeth covered. Just another minute before _he_ ran out of patience, but he wasn’t quite ready to let this go yet. He wanted to hear Raleigh beg for him in that thready voice for just a little longer.

 

“Chuck, oh my god!” He had Raleigh deep, now, and Chuck was feeling it too judging from how he was fucking into the mattress himself. _Goddamnit,_ he thought, though he was impressed at Chuck’s commitment. A lesser man would have crumbled. Raleigh, certainly.

He moaned against Raleigh’s cock then, and Raleigh issued a long, sort of too high and very undignified moan. “Chuck, you are fucking...amazing, just, please, please, I want, I need you, please, just-” Raleigh heard the strain in his voice and squeezed his eyes shut and he had never felt so tight and so wound before. Chuck was going to end him.

 

Good enough. Chuck released Raleigh’s balls and pinned his hips to the bed with both hands, sinking his mouth down and swallowing convulsively around his cock.

His own dick was so fucking hard, fuck. This was going to be an exercise in self-control, for sure. Everything about dealing with Raleigh was an exercise in self-control. The way he wandered around in those board shorts, Jesus Christ.

 

“Oooooooooh,” Raleigh said as Chuck swallowed him down again, swallowed his release, and Raleigh’s vision went white and thoughts went white as he pulsed, again and again, around Chuck’s mouth. His whole body went slack with his orgasm and he really understood, in that moment, why people called it a release. “Chuck, oh my god, that was - fuck,” he said, when he managed to form words again.

He opened his eyes as Chuck licked his lips, still hovering over his cock and staring up at Raleigh - and he still looked hungry, like he hadn’t had enough, and Raleigh pressed his lips together. He was used to that admiring gaze, but not necessarily getting exactly what he wanted from the other person along with it. “Chuck.”

 

“Yeah, sweetheart?” Chuck said, but kind of distractedly, as he went to go fetch lube from Raleigh’s bag. He hadn’t packed any himself, but he was pretty sure Raleigh had - and yeah, there were three varieties. Oh, Raleigh.

He grabbed one of the tubes at random and returned to his spot between Raleigh’s legs, shouldering them into a wider spread. “Hey, I’ve got another question for you,” he said, squeezing some lube onto his hands. He warmed it between his palms before using it to slick his fingers.

Normally he’d be all about sitting and appreciating the _damn_ nice visual of Raleigh Becket, post-orgasm, but his dick was hard enough to pound nails and he needed to get it inside Raleigh before he exploded. But still, he admired Raleigh as he traced his finger around the rim of Raleigh’s hole. Fuck, Raleigh looked good like that, all panting and loose and strung out.

 

Raleigh watched as Chuck went into his bag, the curve of his back as he bent down and that nice, round ass of his. Then Chuck stood, giving Raleigh a great view of his back and shoulder muscles.

He sighed when Chuck spread him further apart and considered his hole. Chuck could have just slid into him - well, not really, Raleigh hadn’t done this in some time and probably needed a little prep. But there was no way he was going to feel more relaxed, his body any more loose, than he did as he swam through his post-orgasm haze.

“Uh-huh,” he said. “Yeah, what?”

 

Chuck slid his finger in to the knuckle. And wow, yeah, this was easy. Raleigh’s body was pretty much completely unresisting, so Chuck pulled out and pushed in two, all the way, twisting his wrist and setting up a slow, steady rhythm of fucking his fingers in and out. He sought around for a moment before stroking gently over his prostate, but for the moment he elected to avoid it, more occupied with stretching him out while he was still slack from coming.

He looked down at his fingers as they disappeared into the stretched pink hole. “You’ve been rimmed, right?” he said, licking his lips.

 

Raleigh lifted his head up to meet Chuck’s eyes and he felt his mouth open slightly in surprise.

“Um, no,” Raleigh said, voice soft and high because of the mere mention of that word. Chuck was deep inside him, right around his prostate and not quite touching it, and Raleigh sighed around his fingers as they worked him open. “Fuck.”

 

Chuck’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh, Jesus. Well.” He added a third finger, slowing his pace to a nearly agonizing crawl, because he wanted to give Raleigh enough time to recuperate and get hard again. “How’s that even happen? Prime piece of ass like you - you deserve better, really. I’m gonna blow your mind.” He pressed the heel of his free hand against his own dick through his boxer briefs, staving off his arousal. “I’m gonna lick you open and fuck you with my tongue and have you swearing to all the gods you’ve never even believed in.”

 

“Oh,” Raleigh said. Chuck appeared genuinely surprised - was this a thing that people did, often? Had he been missing out? He bit at his bottom lip and nodded his head. “I - yeah. I would...good. Very good.” He could already feel the beginnings of another hard-on just from the thought of it, from Chuck’s voice outlining his plan of action. _A+ well done cock,_ he thought.

 

Chuck smiled as he saw Raleigh’s dick starting to stir, and he took it in his free hand, handling it delicately because he knew it’d still be sensitive. He stroked his fingers up it, feather-light, in the same slow rhythm as he was stretching Raleigh out. “What else?” he asked. “You ever… been fucked with a vibrator? Been spanked? Played with ice and hot wax? You’ve been deep-throated, obviously.” He smirked.

 

“Oooh,” Raleigh said, and he actually bit at his cheek. Chuck’s touch was delicate and just right, since his cock was still kind of throbbing. “Um, no, not…” He moaned as Chuck got his fingers deep inside of him and twisted, sparkling a whole new center of pleasure to life. “But, Chuck? You brought your vibrator to summer camp?” He couldn’t help it.

 

Chuck laughed, the sound strangely warm and delighted after all the low roughness of his previous speech. “You wish, mate,” he said, smirking. “I don’t have a vibrator, unfortunately. But you should go for it, get your next partner to try it out with you. Promise you won’t be disappointed.” He intentionally centered in on Raleigh’s prostate then, alternating with long strokes and short brushes against it, just to keep Raleigh from getting accustomed.

 

“Uh, fuck, that feels good,” Raleigh said, and his cock began to show that he wasn’t lying. _And...next partner? Why were they...nevermind,_ he told himself. _Do not get into that while he has his fingers up your ass._ “Chuck - fuck!” he said, as Chuck slowly pulled his fingers against his prostate. Raleigh felt the sparks fly right to his cock and he leaned his head back and adjusted his arms, slightly. This was...way more than he had even expected. “Fuck, I want your cock-”

And, judging from the way Chuck kept grabbing it and his balls, he wanted his cock in Raleigh too.

 

“Not yet,” Chuck said, now twisting his wrist on the upstroke as he pumped his fist over Raleigh’s dick. He sped up, reading from Raleigh’s voice that it wouldn’t be long until he was ready for the next step. With every stroke, he went a little firmer, wanting to be sure that Raleigh was ready to be fucked hard, and wasn’t too sensitive from before.

Then, suddenly, he pulled away, sliding his fingers out and standing up. He shucked off his boxer briefs and took his place again, letting his cockhead press into the cleft of Raleigh’s ass, tantalizingly close to where he knew Raleigh wanted it most.

Catching Raleigh’s dick in his hand once more, he gave it a few quick jerks as he slicked up his dick with his lubed hand. “You think you should get this, love?” he said, flicking his wrist to call attention to his own cock. “Tell me why you deserve it.”

 

Raleigh groaned as Chuck jerked both of them and looked straight at Chuck’s cock, hard and red in his hand. He let his gaze widen to take in the thick ginger curls all around his dick, the hard definition of his deltoids and his abs. “I - I’ve been really good,” he said. He wasn’t sure what else to offer - he hadn’t really done much, since he was handcuffed to the headboard. “I did everything you said, and…” He paused, catching himself from mentioning the question about the other guys. “And I...want to make you feel good, too, Chuck.” He canted his hips and circled them slightly, letting Chuck know what he was going to get.

 

“Yeah, sweetheart, you’ve been so good for me,” Chuck said. He shuffled down a little, using his knees to brace Raleigh’s legs slightly farther apart, though not enough to hurt or strain him. He dipped his thumb into Raleigh’s stretched hole, catching along the rim and teasing there. “You’re so pretty, the way you want me. So pretty all the time.” He nuzzled under Raleigh’s neck, biting at the tendon there. The proximity of their bodies made their cocks brush together, and he held himself up with his free hand while his thumb still traced the circle of Raleigh’s entrance. He ground against Raleigh. “You gotta keep talking for me, remember? Keep telling me what you like, what you want. Keep saying my name, you know I wanna keep hearing my name on those pretty lips of yours.”

 

Raleigh sighed as Chuck’s thumb dipped into him and as their cocks touched again. His erection was still just on this side of tender.

“Pretty?” Raleigh asked, because that was...well, he supposed he could be be pretty. It just made him think of pink and glitter and...but, again, maybe it was an Aussie slang thing. “And, uh, yeah, of course, I can...I…” He held Chuck’s gaze as he lined himself up, put his hand around the root of his cock to guide himself towards Raleigh’s entrance. “Fuck, just...please.”

 

“Shoulda known I’d be a tease,” Chuck said with a lopsided smirk, but all the same, he pressed into Raleigh, one slow and steady push until he was seated fully in him. He held himself there, allowing Raleigh the moment to adjust. Then he drew out, only an inch, before sliding back in. Kept doing that, gradually getting deeper and longer every time. He held himself up on his elbows, hovering over Raleigh.

For the moment, he kept it simple. No frills, just the easy slide in and out, so Raleigh could get used to the stretch of it. After that, he could start showing off.

 

“Yeah, that’s...Chuck, so good, you feel so good around me, fucking big, stretching, like...that’s really good, right there...” Raleigh said. He rolled his hips gently with Chuck’s rhythm, matching the pace he was setting. And Chuck did feel big, and he didn’t feel uncomfortable, just the right side of stretching him so that it was almost all pleasure and no pain.

Raleigh watched Chuck over him and grinned at the easy smile on his face and god, those fucking dimples, which were even more impish with the way his hair was sweaty and falling in his face. “Fuck, you’re gorgeous,” he said. After all, if Raleigh was pretty…

 

“Yeah, I know, thanks,” Chuck said, grin widening. “Ready?” Without giving any explanation for that cryptic question, he pulled back, adjusted his angle, and then pushed back in.

This time, he twisted his hips as he pushed in, allowing for more depth on the way in, and then a full-length stroke against his prostate on the way out. It had taken him months to perfect this move, mostly because it involved more control over his core muscles than he’d had at the time, but it was so worth it. Every thrust was a full-body experience for both of them, in different ways - Chuck had to plant his knees on the bedspread for leverage as he rotated his hips, the one motion somehow stroking every sensitive spot inside Raleigh, lighting up his nerve endings. The one downside of that move was, you couldn’t put a lot of force behind it. It was more about precision than muscle, so Chuck usually used it for his starting move before shifting to a more forceful, bed-shaking style of fucking.

 

“The - what, holy fuck!” Raleigh said, because he had no clue what it was that Chuck was doing but it was - it was very good. Very, very good. “That is...Chuck, that is so fucking good, and…” His prostate was light, almost overly stimulated, pushing him right to a dangerous precipice and hit bit at his lower lip and groaned as Chuck pushed inside him again. “Chuck, I - fuck!”

Raleigh couldn’t do much on his end, hands back the way they were and Chuck’s strokes twisting as they moved inside of him - and, was there anything he couldn’t do? Christ. He felt each thrust right up his spine and then down all of his nerve endings, and, “Fucking hell. Chuck…” It came out more breathy than he would have liked it. Maybe a little too pretty.

 

Chuck flashed him another grin, but he couldn’t do his normal banter, having to focus too much on keeping his breathing regular and even. His stomach muscles clenched with every thrust, and his arms shook from the strain of controlling himself. “Rals,” he said, voice gravelly and deep once more. “I - fuck, Raleigh, so tight.” He let out a rumbling moan from deep in his chest.

“Can’t - gotta -” he said, and shifted again. Now he stopped trying for grace entirely, moving to the wall-banging slams into Raleigh that forced him back into the mattress with every thrust. The headboard rattled, and the chains of the handcuffs chimed in with it. Chuck was too far gone to keep up with his teasing, needed to get off _so fucking bad_. He held onto the sheets by Raleigh’s head for grip, hips moving with brutal force, and his cock pounded against Raleigh’s prostate almost too hard to be pleasant.

 

Raleigh groaned at the shift, but he was ready for it too. Chuck was close to his face, then, and Raleigh rolled his hips to move along with him. He clenched around Chuck, squeezing his dick tighter and groaned at the near constant stimulation to his prostate. “Chuck, so fucking good, god, your cock is so good…” There it was, everything connecting and coming together and he was going to come again.

Chuck was clearly close, hips moving into Raleigh and causing the whole bed to shake. That was athleticism, really, and then he took a deep hit. “Oh, fuck, Chuck, that’s - that’s so. Fucking. Hard! You can...just a little slower?” Raleigh reached for his own cock, close to his second orgasm.

 

“Fuck, sorry,” Chuck gritted out, strained. He took in a deep, shuddering breath. “Sometimes I forget…” He shook his head, slowing his hips to a less ferocious pace. It was agonizing, excruciating - his balls were drawing up and he was so close, but this pace, it ignited more sensation than he knew was possible, and he needed to come - he needed to come so fucking bad -

 

Raleigh clenched against him as tight as he could manage, drawing Chuck in to him tight, and he rolled his hips along with Chuck’s thrusts, hoping to pull him over the edge. “That’s so good, Chuck, so good, fuck, I’m going to…” He stroked himself, hard, and then there was another hit directly to his prostate and he was so, so fucking close himself.

 

Chuck only managed three more pumps before he came, unable to hold it back anymore. It seemed to start from his toes and take over his entire body, and his hips jerked and he was coming inside Raleigh, hard. His vision blanked out as he did, and he slumped over Raleigh after, laying a wet, open-mouthed kiss to his neck as he did. He made an attempt to roll off after, not wanting to crush him. “Shit, did you…?” he slurred, reaching for Raleigh’s cock.

 

“Yeah, very yeah,” Raleigh said, a little breathless himself. He wished that he had his hands at this moment because he would have clutched Chuck over top of himself, held his weight onto him, and kept him close for another moment.

Chuck rolled alongside of him and Raleigh smiled at him, so fucking loose and almost weightless. He licked at his lips and met Chuck’s eyes. “Um, can you..?” He wiggled his wrists, the handcuffs rattling against the headboard.

 

“Yeah, yeah,” Chuck said, pulling gingerly out of Raleigh. He flashed a smile at the sight of his come leaking out of Raleigh without thinking much of it.

It was while he was undoing the Velcro ties of the handcuffs and massaging Raleigh’s wrists that he realized what was wrong with that. “Oh, fuck,” he said, the slur in his voice clearing up into a nameless panic. “Shit, ‘m sorry, I didn’t think - I promise I didn’t mean to.”

 

“Oh,” Raleigh said, and he blinked. He tried to figure out what would have Chuck so almost panicked. “My wrists are fine, though - I, _oh._ Um.” He met Chuck’s eyes - well, this was an after-boner killer. Or hopefully not. “I know you didn’t - you’re good, though right? I know I am.” He swallowed - all Chuck’s experience, he hoped he was.

 

“Yeah, of course,” Chuck rushed to say. “I mean, as freaked out as I am right now, you think I’m not normally pretty careful about it?” He brushed Raleigh’s sweaty hair off his forehead, biting his lip. “I’m clean, I got tested before coming to camp. I really am sorry, love.”

Somehow, the word sounded different when it wasn’t used mid-coitus. He ignored that.

 

“Well,” Raleigh said, because both of them should have been more careful about that - but there was no point ruining the moment, now, if it wasn’t going to result in anyone’s dick falling off. “Me too. But it’s OK, so…” he flashed Chuck a soft smile to try and reassure him.

Then he realized he had his hands back and had never been more relieved. He reached over and ran his thumb along Chuck’s jaw and then pulled him in for a light kiss.

 

Chuck gladly returned it, tangling his hands in Raleigh’s hair and tilting his head into it. He slowly relaxed, the tension seeping from his shoulders the longer Raleigh kissed him. When he drew away, he let out a deep breath and rested his forehead against Raleigh’s.

He gave a quiet laugh. “I’m normally better than that - the fucking part, I mean. You made me all -” He gave a vague gesture that could have meant many things. “Next time, I’ll be better. Won’t lose it, so I can fuck your brains out for real.”

 

Raleigh rolled onto his side and propped his head up on his elbow. “But…” He paused, not sure how to deal with that statement. Because if Chuck was better than that? “But you did? And, also, don’t you want me to..?” He thought he remembered that correctly, at least, Chuck had been pretty enthused about getting Raleigh’s cock in his ass.

 

Chuck shifted, trying to hide the mild discomfort he felt at having to talk about sappy sentimental stuff. “Yeah, but you don’t, so…” He shrugged, as if it were obvious, that there was only one natural conclusion to reach. If Raleigh didn’t want to… Chuck wasn’t going to pressure or guilt-trip him into anything.

 

“I didn’t say I didn’t want to,” Raleigh said. There was a part of his brain that was flashing a little bit of a _danger!_ sign at him. “I just like...bottoming, a lot, but I’m happy to…” He studied Chuck for a moment. “Have you ever done it, Chuck? Been fucked?”

 

Now it wasn’t just mild discomfort that made Chuck shift. He ducked his head, not wanting Raleigh to see the uncertainty flashing across it. “I, uh,” he said, rubbing the back of his head. What kind of self-professed sex god (alright, Chuck had never actually said that about himself, but he liked to think he was pretty good) had never gotten fucked, seriously?

“Not exactly?” he said.

 

Raleigh pursed his lips just slightly at this development, and then he smiled. Which was selfish, mostly because Chuck had just blown his fucking mind and Raleigh had been certain he wouldn’t be able to reciprocate, but now...also, what kind of response was that? And how the hell had Chuck got so good at topping when he had never-

“Chuck,” he said, and he kept his voice soft and leaned in, almost nudging his nose. “It’s just...not exactly? That tends to to be a yes or no, uh, answer...what do you mean, not exactly?”

 

“Like, uh, no?” Chuck said, voice going a little high and thready. “Just - you don’t get really good at fucking people by bottoming, so it just…” He scowled. “And what are you smirking about, sparky?”

 

Sparky? Oh, someone was getting feisty. “Um, nothing - I just.” Raleigh pressed his lips together in an effort to minimize the smirk. “Also, it’s really impressive, actually, you’re that good at...fucking, without...I mean, that’s how you learn what feels good.” He shrugged his shoulder to minimize the whole thing. He was happy to keep things the way they were. But he would also relish the opportunity to show Chuck what he was missing. He leaned in and gave Chuck a slight kiss on his lips, hoping that wasn’t too sappy.

 

Chuck nodded, a faint smirk on his lips. “I’m pretty impressive?” he said coaxingly, wanting to hear more. “I’m fishing for compliments here, mate, gimme something.”

 

“Really fucking impressive,” Raleigh said. He resisted the urge to add _really impressive fucking,_ because then Chuck might think he was sort of making fun of him, and Raleigh knew that that way lay madness. “Um, the thing with the twisting, that was…” He nodded, eagerly. “That was really good.”

 

“I’ll teach you,” Chuck said, kissing him briefly. “We got the entire summer, got a whole bag of tricks for ya.”

 

Raleigh smiled back - so he was going to get a chance to show Chuck a thing or two himself, then. “Good,” he said. “I’d like that…” He looked down at his own cock, curious. _You think, little buddy?_ “Whenever you’re ready…”

But - if Chuck had never bottomed before, this was going to be...he was going to take a lot of fucking prep. Good thing Raleigh was patient.

 

Chuck also hesitated, looking down at Raleigh’s dick. Jesus, now that he was thinking about it…

“Not in a huge rush,” he said. “But… yeah, soon.” He bit his lower lip. “You - uh, have done it before, though? Like, you know what you’re doing?”

 

Raleigh couldn’t help but smirk again. “Yeah, uh, plenty of times, actually,” he said. “Like I said...um, I really like bottoming but that hasn’t always necessarily meshed with my, uh, the other person’s preferences, so…” He didn’t want to overstate things. It wasn’t like he hadn’t really enjoyed himself.

 

Chuck thought about this for a minute. He reached over and ran his hand through Raleigh’s bangs, fluffing them up. “So, then… We’ll try that once before the summer ends. But usually I’ll fuck you, ‘cause mate, I promise that isn’t a hardship for me.” He leered at Raleigh and leaned over, kissing him and then biting Raleigh’s lower lip gently as he pulled away. “I really, really enjoyed that.”

 

Raleigh sighed as Chuck fluffed his hair. There wasn’t anything much better than having someone run their fingers through your hair. Chuck was smiling again, those dimples brilliant. “Yeah?” he said. That was good to hear, all the sex that Chuck had had, he was sort of afraid that he had just sort of been there for the whole thing. But then, why make the effort if… “Good. I...mmmmmm…” He sort of stopped thinking as Chuck kept stroking his hair and he flopped down off of his elbow.

 

“C’mere, you fuckin’ puppy,” Chuck said, scooting over so Raleigh’s head was resting on his thighs. He dug in a little harder with his fingers, carding through it rather than stroking over it. “I like how you turn into a big pile of fluff when you’re well-fucked.”

 

“I am not…” Raleigh said, except now Chuck was properly petting him and he was a little bit of a pile of fluff. _Goddamnit,_ he thought, and relaxed into Chuck’s touch further. Still. He should probably try and maintain some dignity here. “I am not a puppy.”

 

“Of course you’re not,” Chuck cooed. “You’re just a good boy. Who’s a good boy? Whoooo’s a good boy?” He scratched Raleigh behind the ears, and then rubbed under his chin with his other hand.

 

Raleigh sighed at the scratch and then realized that this was not helping his point. “I feel like you might be making be making fun of me,” he grumbled. Besides, Chuck hadn’t just come twice.

 

“I might be,” Chuck said, wearing an amiable smile, eyes light. “But you know I do it out of -” He was going to say _love_ , but that, no. And _affection_ , bleh. He swallowed. “Anyway, you can take it. You’re a big boy, and all.”

 

“Yeah,” Raleigh said, agreeably. “You want to catch a movie? I’ve got Netflix on my laptop, so…” He licked his lips, aware of his proximity to Chuck’s cock. Tempting. But perhaps later. Well, unless Chuck wanted - he looked up and met Chuck’s eyes.

 

“Yeah, sounds great,” Chuck said. He smoothed back Raleigh’s bangs again, which had gotten ruffled in his finger-combing. Catching Raleigh’s look, he laughed. “Later,” he said. “S’kind of a work-out, fucking. I’ma need an hour to recuperate.”

 

Raleigh debated making a comment about this, then thought better of it. He sat up and stretched his arms above his head, then flopped forward and grabbed his bag and laptop. “Anything in particular you’re in the mood for?” he asked, pulling the Netflix screen up. “I’ve got a bunch of stuff saved…” He tilted the screen and let Chuck have a look while he flopped in the other direction and plugged the computer into the wall.

 

Chuck shot a kind of mutedly heated glance at Raleigh’s ass, because he had a strong feeling of fondness for it but he wasn’t gonna be getting it up anytime in the next half-hour. He scrolled through Raleigh’s Netflix choices. ‘I’m in the middle of Orange is the New Black, and uh, never gonna say no to Arrested Development. Or Jurassic Park. Or Mean Girls.”

 

“Dinosaurs it is,” Raleigh said. He was never going to say no to any of those - but it would probably be best not to reveal to Chuck his capacity to quote the entirety of Mean Girls just yet. Also, Shane Oman kind of looked like Yancy, and...yeah.

He laid back into the pillows on the bed after he got the movie cued up and then reached forward to grab Chuck and drag him back with him. Chuck made a slight, startled sound and then seemed to just acquiesce to it. Raleigh put his head on his chest.


	4. Chapter 4

Raleigh was pleased with the direction the day had taken - he’d managed not to get flung from any ridiculously high places, or have to parasail, or god knew what else Chuck was into. They’d woken up after both falling asleep to the movie last night, Raleigh had sucked Chuck off, drawing it out and making him squirm, and they’d had breakfast before heading up Whiteface Mountain.

He navigated down carefully, not entirely pleased with the hairpin turns, and figured they go somewhere a little better for dinner and then head back for the evening. Then he heard Chuck’s phone make a noise, indicating he was getting a text.

 

Chuck checked his phone and laughed. “Mako is pleading for us to put her out of her misery. Apparently she’s being dragged out to dinner with your Better Half and his... Better Half.” He looked over. “Wanna?”

 

Chuck didn’t seem opposed to the rescue - probably because it was Mako, and Raleigh felt some sympathy for her. He could only imagine what she’d had to put up with for the past day. He hoped that they hadn’t tried to go to Canada or something. “Yeah, if you don’t mind,” he said. “She’s got to be at her wits end to actually ask, right?”

 

“Yeah, she’s more of a grit your teeth and bear it type of chick,” Chuck said, fingers flying over phone as he composed the return message. He set his phone back down after he was done and stretched out as well as he could, propping his feet up on the dashboard. “Your brother the charmer.”

 

“You know,” Raleigh said, “I mean, I know you don’t think so, but it actually does work. I’ve seen him in action? It’s…” he shook his head. “I don’t know how to describe it, but he has never suffered for lack of attention from the opposite sex. And sometimes the same sex. And everyone always says it’s because he’s charming.”

He turned down the next road, headed towards the restaurant where Mako was awaiting her sort of rescue.

 

“Mako better not,” Chuck grumbled, but didn’t go into any more detail than that. He wasn’t looking to pick a fight with Raleigh, and he sensed that Raleigh wouldn’t be pleased if Chuck went on another rant about his nice, charming, perfect brother. “Take it from me, Rals. You don’t have to have a great personality to get laid if you’re that good-looking. How do you think I manage it?” He flashed a grim smile.

 

Raleigh inhaled. Great. He hadn’t meant - time to unpack this, one at a time. “No, she better not,” Raleigh said. “I wasn’t saying I thought he was charming, just that...other people actually do? And I’m confused by it, trust me,” he added. He glanced over at Chuck and, deciding he had sufficiently cleared that up, moved onto the more difficult statement. “And besides, you…” he sighed, not sure how to put it, and just let it hang there as he collected his thoughts.

 

Chuck groaned. “Oh fuck, please don’t. We both know I’m hard to get along with, don’t try to deny it.” Sure, the fact that Raleigh wanted to fuck him clouded his judgment, but there’s no possible way he actually believed that Chuck wasn’t abrasive as all hell. Some people liked it, some hated it. No one pretended he was a nice guy.

 

“You didn’t let me finish,” Raleigh said. “Which is, you can be a bit abrasive, but that doesn’t necessarily not count as a personality type that people find attractive? Though, I mean, I don’t know. Lots of people get along with me and I hardly ever get-” He stopped and widened his eyes, but it was too late.

 

Chuck’s head whipped around, eyes wide. “See, I don’t get that. Like, I really don’t. You’re a blond, muscled, gorgeous piece of ass with a monster cock, and you’re nice and friendly to boot. How the _fuck_ are you not swimming in pussy?” He winced. “Uh, so to speak.”

 

Raleigh shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not sure how many people know about the monster cock,” he said. “Don’t know. Maybe nice guys don’t fuck well?” Maybe, he thought, people wanted to get fucked rather than adopt a puppy? He shook his head, not sure why he was getting reflective of this. “Doesn’t matter, uh, right now,” he said. “Currently getting spectacularly laid, so.”

 

“Man, those people are fucking morons,” Chuck said, shaking his head. He drummed his fingers on the armrest. “Nice people are great fucks. They’re always paying attention to you, make you wanna feel good. And they’re dirtier than I ever give ‘em credit for, too.”

Chuck shook his head as he thought about it. A thought occurred to him, and he turned back to Raleigh. “By the way, I probably, uh, haven’t fucked as many people as you might think I have. If that’s a concern, or whatever.”

 

Raleigh resisted the urge to smile as he made another turn with the car. “It wasn’t, no,” he said, but Chuck’s concern was cute - and proof he had a better personality, or whatever, than he was willing to give himself credit for. He always took the attitude what was in the past was past, unless someone needed to go and get a little swab stuck in their dick. But even then he didn’t ask too many questions.

He wondered if Chuck meant he was a good fuck. He hoped so. “I, uh...well…”

 

Chuck shook his head again. “I guess jackasses are more fun to fuck, and nice guys are more fun to date. I don’t get a lot of long term offers, but I bet everyone you’ve ever fucked has wanted to keep you around. It’d be hard not to.” He was half disdainful of everyone else for having not plucked Raleigh out of the dating pool when they had the chance, and half grateful.

 

“Well, no,” Raleigh said. “But, I’m not sure it had anything to do with...I mean, I spend a lot of time in the pool. And I’ve been told that constantly reeking of chlorine is something of a turn off, so.” He hoped that steered things back in a lighter direction, especially since they were almost at the restaurant. Also, he was pretty much sure this meant Chuck wanted to keep him around. He resisted the urge to grin.

 

“Or people just have shit taste,” Chuck said, and was content to leave it at that. He looked out the window, and then sat forward when they pulled into the parking space. “Ready to go face the world? S’not too late to turn around and get burgers somewhere.” But he was smiling when he got out of the car, and instantly gravitated towards Mako when he spotted their three friends hanging around outside the door, clearly waiting for them.

“Hello,” she said as he approached. “How was your weekend?”

“I’m a gentleman, Mako,” he drawled, smirking wide. “I don’t kiss and tell.”

 

Raleigh smiled as Chuck made it right over for Mako - he had enjoyed his time with Chuck, but he was willing to decompress. Just so long as- “No,” he said, because he could tell Yancy and Tendo wanted to give him a noogie or slap his ass or some other obnoxious thing. “Didn’t you have, like, a group of foreign girls with you?”

Tendo looked over at Yancy and he grinned slightly. Raleigh wondered if he wanted to know. “They went with Sasha,” he said. “Aleksis invited them water skiing.”

Raleigh nodded. Made perfect sense, the only two Russian people gravitating towards each other. “So, what, you guys put in for a table, or..?”

“Just waiting on you two to get down here,” said Tendo. “You like Lake Placid, Chuck?”

 

“Yeah, the hotel rooms there are great,” Chuck said, deadpan. “So, shall we?”

Apparently getting laid had mellowed Chuck out in the worst way possible, Mako reflected. She could only hope he didn’t inadvertently offend or alienate Raleigh in the process.

 

Raleigh shook his head at Yancy, who just nodded. “I found something I was told you might be interested in this morning when we went to get breakfast,” he said, and reached into his backpack. Raleigh squeezed his eyes shut and decided not to open them until Yancy was through with whatever horrors he was going to unleash. “And don’t accuse me of Aussie stereotyping, Imogene said you would legitimately like these.” Raleigh tentatively cracked open an eye.

He handed Chuck a bag from Wegman’s, one of the Upstate New York grocery stores Raleigh had come to love from their summers up here. They tended to have a fairly good international selection, so Yancy had probably taken one of the girls there when they expressed a desire for something.

Chuck pulled out some Vegemite and a box of Tim Tams.

 

Chuck looked at the items in his hand, then looked up at Yancy. “Honestly, Other Becket, here’s a little secret,” he said, turning the Vegemite over and over in his hand. “This shit’s actually pretty gross. It’s pretty much only worth eating if it’s spread out on something delicious.”

He turned and gave Raleigh an obvious once-over, then looked back at Yancy. “But thanks for the biscuits, mate,” he said, and grinned.

 

“Ah, well,” Yancy said. “You’re welcome. In the very least you can torment your kids with it, make them eat it as some form of cultural exchange or whatever.”

Raleigh smiled, relieved. He glanced quickly over to Mako before he opened the menu.

 

Mako looked between him and Chuck and raised one eyebrow. From the rather obvious innuendo Chuck was uttering, she gathered that he and Raleigh had - And now she was curious to know if all the talk had been substantiated.

 

Dinner went well, as far as Raleigh was concerned, and they all made plans to go and meet up with everyone else at the bonfire for the rest of the evening before they had to check back in with the campers.

When Chuck wandered off to get a beer, Raleigh took the opportunity to grab at Mako’s arm. “You want to go for a walk?” he asked. “I could use some fresher air.”

 

“Oh!” she said, and looked around. Confident that nothing immediately required her attention, she smiled. “Of course.” She followed him out, and rounded on him as soon as they were outside. “Well?” she asked.

 

“Things went really well, actually?” Raleigh said, relieved to have someone to discuss it with. He couldn’t help but look over his shoulder, though, hoping Chuck wasn’t going march in on him again. “We had a really good time - he tried to get me to, like, go rock climbing or paragliding or god knows what but I dodged that bullet for the time being, so.”

 

“Oh yes, Chuck always has had a passion for extreme sports,” Mako nodded. “I believe it started as an excuse to avoid his father in the summer, but now he seems to genuinely…” She shivered just thinking about it. She wasn’t afraid of heights, but skydiving? Never in a million years.

 

“Yeah, I…uh, everything he named seemed to involve high places,” Raleigh said. “I could bungee jump, maybe? With a shot or two before hand, but...I mean, I guess the adrenaline rush is something...whatever. I’m happy to go whitewater kayaking or whatever, but…” He nodded his head, and, once he figured they had sufficient distance, “Oh, and you heard right about...you know.”

 

Mako gave an embarrassing, high-pitched squeal and then clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle it, though it was a little late already. “Details, please?” she asked.

 

Raleigh was glad that it was dark enough that she didn’t see him blush. “Oh, man, you know this makes me, like, your gay friend, right? No, he was just...you were right, very intense. Definitely a perfectionist. Everything was…” he shivered, remembering the way that Chuck had zeroed in on what he wanted and needed. “He definitely has put a lot of effort into doing things really well.”

 

Mako shook her head, lips pursed. “When does he even find the time?” she asked the air. “Architecture, soccer, extreme sports, internships… Maybe he is a vampire, for the amount he must sleep.” So annoying.

 

“Good question,” Raleigh said. “I mean, it has to take effort to be good, right, especially since-” He stopped instantly, opened his mouth, and shut it again.

 

“Oh no,” said Mako, hands on her hips. “You don’t get to…” She prodded his arm.

 

“Get to...wait, I...get to what?” he said, confused. Mako looked so offended on his behalf.

 

“You don’t get to stop there,” she said. “Especially since what?”

 

“It’s just, um, he’s really good at topping, considering he’s never bottomed before, that’s all,” Raleigh said - hoping he hadn’t revealed more information than Mako knew. Probably. _Damnit._

 

She blinked. “Wait, that can’t be…” Her gaze turned distant as she thought. “Then -”

Her jaw clenched. “Then Chuck has dated some very bad people,” she said, “because I vividly recall a boy in high school claiming something to the contrary.”

 

“Oh,” Raleigh furrowed his brow and pressed his lips together. “Well, that’s...I mean, I suppose - he certainly looked like he was telling the truth.” He thought about how Chuck had glanced down at his cock. “He was kind of uncomfortable, once I pressed, so…”

 

“I do not think Chuck was lying,” Mako said, “and I do not think Chuck was forced into anything he did not want. Rather, I think Slate was lying. You know, bragging about how he had-” She shifted her weight. “Even in high school Chuck was very… I suppose it was some great badge of honor, to claim to have… _tamed_ him.” Her voice was thick with disgust.

 

“Oh,” Raleigh said, and he sighed. He could definitely see that - and it made him upset, on Chuck’s behalf. He didn’t like the idea of him dating someone like that. And then he thought, _oh, you are fucked, Raleigh Becket._ One real date and he already had that surge of protective instinct? “That’s not...I can see that, though.”

 

Mako waved her hand as if physically clearing the air. “That relationship did not last long, believe me. But yes, Chuck does have a habit of dating assholes. I am glad he is growing up though.” She smiled at Raleigh - High school Chuck never would have dated him, so clearly something had clicked for Chuck where he could find nice boys attractive instead of boring.

 

“Oh, no,” Raleigh said, and he found his eyes shooting into his forehead as he remembered their conversation from earlier. “He said something about that...nice guys, and how he was surprised I haven’t had more...oh, no. I mean, he said nice guys were good at…” He sighed. “He pet me like a puppy.”

 

Mako didn’t address that last bit, because for some reason Raleigh was under the impression he _wasn’t_ a puppy and she wasn’t mean enough to shatter that illusion. But she furrowed her brow, confused, about the rest. “So? I’m afraid I don’t…”

 

“It’s just, you know…” he waved his hand a little bit. “Always seems like, I don’t know, guys have got bored with me or whatever and then they always...it’s always some dickhead, you know, and it’s because they’re probably better in bed.” Raleigh sighed. _Whoa, incoming past relationship issues,_ he thought. “It’s not like I’ve got a lot of experience…”

 

Mako bit her lower lip, thinking hard about what she was going to say. “I… Do not take this the wrong way, Raleigh, but I think Chuck may prefer it that way. He likes being the more experienced one in bed, and -” She sighed. “I don’t know if you’ve seen this part of him, but he’s very jealous. I think he would be driven slightly mad if you had as much experience as he does. I’m sure he would prefer if you’d never had… I mean, I just don’t think that he likes competition, past or future.”

 

Raleigh nodded his head - it made sense, from what he had seen and heard from Chuck. “Yeah, I can see that. He asked about...wanted me to tell him he was the best. But! I’ve done stuff, you know, and if he hasn’t…though he didn’t seem, like, I don’t know. He acted like he really wanted to have me fuck me, and then…” He was glad he was talking to Mako. It helped him collect his thoughts.

Which largely centered around how he wanted Chuck to like him and wanted things to work out between them. _Oh no,_ he thought, _maybe I am a puppy._

 

Mako sighed. “I don’t mean to make it sound like Chuck is predictable and everything he does can be rationally reasoned out, because -” She glanced in Chuck’s direction, looking unimpressed. Chuck’s irrationality was legendary. “So maybe it’s not mutually exclusive. He wants to try getting fucked, but he doesn’t want you to be experienced. He dates assholes, but he likes nice guys too. He’s allowed to have dimension, you know.”

She raised her hand to prevent Raleigh from responding. “But I wonder why you are putting so much thought into this, I must admit. It seems like overkill for what amounts to a summer fling.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “It _is_ just a summer fling, is it not?”

 

“Uh…” Raleigh hated it when Mako called him out on things like this. On the other hand, it was the reason that she was such a good friend. “Well. That is an interesting question. We haven’t really talked about that? Though he sort of said...something about trying something with my next partner, so. I do not know.”

 

Mako smacked his head. “Am I going to have to train you not to overanalyze Chuck’s words? He is not malicious, for all that he is sometimes mean. I’m sure he did not mean anything by it.” She shifted back. “Although, that is not to say I… I do think you should talk to him about it. I would not want you to make assumptions. He does not, um, commit easily.”

 

“I’m not looking for...also, ow, Mako, that unnecessary,” Raleigh said. _Train,_ he thought. _Mako thinks so too._ “I just - why can’t it just go where it goes? I like him, but I’m not…” He crossed his arms. Sounded pretty good, he thought, like he believed it. And he was pretty sure he did. There was a difference between not wanting to fuck something up and wanting to get married and be in love forever and ever.

 

She scrutinized him closely, and eventually nodded her satisfaction. “Alright. So is everything… You’re not going to be worrying incessantly about anything, yes?” Of all they had discussed, they hadn’t seem to resolve much. But maybe things would just work out in time.

 

“I just want to be good in bed, Mako,” Raleigh said, and he nodded. Worry incessantly? Probably not - worry, a little bit, but...he didn’t want to dump all of it on Mako. She was probably going to get it a little from Chuck, too. They were friends, right?

 

“And I’m sure you have nothing to worry about there,” she said, smiling. “As I’ve said, Chuck will let you know if he’s not enjoying it. And besides, at least he has no frame of reference to compare you to.” She wasn’t sure that was especially reassuring. “You’re going to be great.”

 

“Aw, thanks Mako. I guess it’s just, you know, he’s never done it before so hopefully, you know, it won’t be...I mean, I hope he can-” Raleigh stopped and swallowed. “Take it on.” He was blushing furiously. “We should probably head back.”

 

She pressed her lips together to keep from laughing. “Yes,” she said when she had mastered herself. “I don’t believe I need any more detail than that, thank you. Besides, it’s dangerous to leave Chuck alone with Yancy for that long.” Hopefully disaster hadn’t struck while Raleigh and Mako were talking.

 

“Well, there was a sort of peace offering…” Raleigh said. “I don’t know what their deal is with each other.” He sighed.

 

“I don’t think Chuck gets Yancy’s sense of humor,” Mako said thoughtfully. “He takes it very personally when he feels talked down to, and Yancy - well, you know.”

 

“Oh, do I know,” said Raleigh. “He’s a smug bastard. And always, don’t get cocky, kid. Like I’m the one who…” He shook his head. “And I’m only eleven months younger than him, too.”

 

Mako cocked her head to the side. “How much of his antagonism is being protective of you, do you think? I feel he is a little more, um… snide with Chuck than he normally is.” She shrugged. “Or perhaps he just likes getting a reaction.”

 

“Probably both,” Raleigh said. “I think it started with him pushing Chuck’s buttons to see if he was, you know, interested. But then he realized it was kind of fun. Like I couldn’t figure out myself if…”

 

Mako had to laugh. “Because you were so smooth about it? Tendo told me…” She smirked.

 

“Told you what?” Raleigh asked. He had been pretty smooth - closed the bathroom door, kissed him.

 

“Told me you couldn’t tell if he was hitting on you when you were on the dock in your swim trunks,” she said, smirk widening. “And I saw you during that first bonfire, when Yancy had to come rescue you. Did you really know Chuck was interested before he made it brutally obvious?”

 

“Uh,” Raleigh said. “Well, no, I suppose not - but he’s hard to read! And I didn’t want to make an ass of myself, you know? I didn’t even know if he liked guys…”

 

Mako laughed again. “So maybe Yancy _was_ doing you a favor, hm?” She tapped her pointer finger against her lips. “I suppose it is rather difficult to guess whether a boy is interested when he makes an effort to flirt with you while you are shirtless…”

 

“Chuck flirts weird,” Raleigh protested. “Also he...how was I to know? I’m shirtless all the time, as part of my job.” The bonfire came back into view and Raleigh was relieved. He could use a drink.

 

They were still a few yards away when someone warm and broad plastered himself to Raleigh’s back, arms around his chest and forehead pressed between his shoulder blades. “Fuck,” Chuck said, slurring so badly he was barely understandable. “Your fucking brother, alcohol tolerance of a Russian mobster, Jesus Christ. I think he was cheating.”

“I take no responsibility for this,” Tendo called over.

“I thought you were trying to hold back,” Mako said to the very intoxicated Chuck.

Chuck squinted at her with one eye. “I was, and then - Other Becket and Other Other Becket were all - I’m not a lightweight! And now ‘m pissed.” He sighed against Raleigh’s back, seeming to appreciate the stability of it. “I kept up with both of ‘em, though.”

“You drank as much as Yancy and Tendo put together?” Mako checked.

Chuck nodded, not appearing to see why that would be the problem.

 

“Oh, Chuck,” Raleigh said. He turned around and guided Chuck into his chest. How long had he and Mako been gone? He didn’t want to patronize him, but...he was suddenly aware that Chuck was younger than him. “Well, that was an achievement,” he said. He ran a hand down Chuck’s back and kissed the top of his head. “Would you like some water now?”

He looked over to Mako, and she nodded her head. “And you are partially responsible, ass!” he called to Tendo. Fuck, what were they trying to do? Dicks.

He should have known better than to have been pleased with the whole peace offering thing.

 

Help came to Yancy from an unexpected place. “Nah, it wasn’t like, they weren’t being pushy about it,” Chuck said. “Other Becket even, uh, told me not to, but - I’ve got pride, mate. No Aussie is gonna lose to a bunch of seppos in a drinking contest.”

“It wasn’t a drinking contest if we weren’t taking part in it,” Tendo interjected.

“If it wasn’t a drinking contest, then how did I win?” Chuck shot back. He smirked, all cockiness and triumph.

 

“Here,” Raleigh said, handing Chuck a large bottle of water. He was a little confused as to how this had all happened, suddenly. “Drink some of that, uh, champion.” His smirk was really cute, but Raleigh tried to focus on ensuring that Chuck didn’t throw up all over himself, someone else, or, worse yet, a camper.

“What did you do?” He asked, walking over to Tendo and leaving Chuck with Mako for a moment. She could get away with being a bit more stern with him.

 

Tendo pretty much cackled. “Nothing, man! Seriously. Yancy said something totally, uh, non-judgmental, or like - he wasn’t trying to pick a fight, but Chuck took it all wrong because you know how he is about Yancy. And then Yancy was like ‘no dude you don’t have to prove it to us’ but Chuck evidently decided to demonstrate his Aussie pride by outdrinking both of us.” He smiled. “Totally did it, too. He’s got a pretty impressive alcohol tolerance.”

 

“Uh, fine,” Raleigh said, because he wasn’t going to get a straight answer from either of them. He shot a glare in Yancy’s direction - he was flirting with some of the girl’s swimming and sailing counselors with a smirk on his stupid face. “What did he out drink you with?” _Please say beer,_ Raleigh thought.

 

Tendo smirked. “Tequila.” Which was gonna be hell in the morning, but kid brought it upon himself. Dumb little motherfucker.

 

“Great,” said Raleigh. “That’s just…” he narrowed his eyes, as if to say, _I will get you, Tendo Choi._ And he would. They worked together, and with children. It might take some planning but Raleigh would execute. “I don’t know why you two think you’re, uh, cute, or whatever...but it’s not.”

He stomped off to go to where Mako had put Chuck in Yancy’s car. She had the door open and he was seated with both his feet out the door, giving Mako this dopey smile. “Drink all your water, champ?” Raleigh asked.

 

Chuck beamed at Raleigh, appearing genuinely excited to see him. “‘eyyy,” he said, making grabby hands at Raleigh. “I am a champ, cheers. Did Tendo tell you how much better Aussies are at drinking than you dumb cunts? Don’t feel bad, love.”

“He did, although you can’t tell,” Mako said.

 

“Yes, he did, he is very impressed with you and your alcohol tolerance,” Raleigh said. He knit his fingers around Chuck’s and smiled down at him. “I don’t know what I have to feel bad about, either. I only associate with dumb cunts.” He leaned down and kissed Chuck’s head.

Mako considered this, clearly thinking something.

 

“Keep telling yourself that, Becket,” Chuck snorted. But he dragged Raleigh in and pressed his face into his belly, eyes closed. The world was spinning around him, and Raleigh’s body was warm and stable and strong. Then he picked his head up, looking straight at Raleigh with a serious expression. “Yancy was nice to me. Mostly. I think something’s wrong with him.”

 

“I will look into it,” Raleigh said. “It might be one of those brain tumors that changes your personality.” He stroked Chuck’s hair gently and looked over to Mako for help.

Were it one of his friends at college he would have just told them to puke and rally, but he doubted Chuck’s pride would take kindly to that suggestion. Still - he’d feel an awful lot better in the morning if he got the tequila out of him before he became pickled. He raised his eyebrows, hoping that Mako might have a suggestion. She was in a better position to play bad cop.

 

“Bananas and water,” Mako said. “One cup of water for every shot of liquor. So - a swimming pool, maybe?”

“Bah,” Chuck said. “I know you’re talking about me.”

 

“Just want to keep you from, uh…” Raleigh tried to figure out how to phrase it. “Never fun to have a touch of a hangover when you’ve got to work with kids.” He kept stroking Chuck’s hair.

Worse would be Chuck puking on his old man when he had to sign in later tonight.

Man, he was really going to owe Mako for this.

 

Mako sighed. “I will go fetch some bananas from the mess hall. Just take care of him and don’t let him do anything stupid.”

Chuck scowled even as he leaned into Raleigh’s hand. “You two are such balls,” he grumbled. “No fun at all. I should go hang out with Yancy more. At least he knows how to throw down.”

 

Raleigh rolled his eyes. This was a complete shift - but, not surprising. He had told Chuck that Yancy was like this, had these abilities. One thing of TimTams and letting Chuck think he won a drinking contest and now they were BFFs.

“Yes, he does,” said Raleigh. “You can hang out with more if you want, after you eat Mako’s bananas.”

 

Chuck grinned. “I’ll eat your banana, mate.” He turned his head and brushed his lips against Raleigh’s palm, catching it mid-caress over his hair.

 

“Yes, I know,” Raleigh said, accepting the light kiss and then pressing Chuck’s head back into his stomach. It seemed to help ground him. “You definitely proved that, as well.”

 

“Y’know, there are other ways to kill a hangover,” Chuck said, sliding his hands up under Raleigh’s shirt and resting them on Raleigh’s hips, his hands tacky and hot over Raleigh’s skin. “Like if you stay awake through it until you come down, you don’t get one. I don’t have to drink a swimming pool.” He grinned. “We could just fuck all night.”

 

“I am, uh, not entirely sure if that is true,” Raleigh said. He put his hands over Chuck’s and turned his gaze when he heard Yancy laughing close by. _No, no, no, do not require your help,_ he thought. “I tried it once and it did not work.”

 

“Then you did it wrong,” Chuck said, nose crinkling with disapproval. “Besides, even if I have a hangover, at least I got a full night of fucking out of it. Win-win.”

 

“Well,” Raleigh said. “We don’t really have anywhere to go for the full of fucking. The kids are all in their bunks and we’ve got to sign back in later, so…” He shrugged his shoulders, like this was the only impediment.

“You doing all right over there, bro?” Yancy called.

“More than!” Raleigh replied. He was going to get Yancy too. That was a little trickier, though.

 

Chuck’s attention was caught momentarily by Yancy’s voice, then he decided he didn’t care and turned his focus back to Raleigh. “Could just make out in the backseat,” he said, cajoling. He traced over Raleigh’s deltoids, practically batting his eyelashes up at him.

 

Raleigh was doing his best to resist drunk-Chuck, but he was awfully adorable. But Raleigh had the legitimate fear that if he laid Chuck down on his side he just might vomit on Raleigh or in his mouth or...and yeah, Raleigh wasn’t doing that again.

“Mmm,” he said, instead, and he kneeled down and kissed Chuck on his mouth, using his hand to hold his head steady. “Or make out right here.” _Compromise!_ At least this way Raleigh had the hope of dodging anything.

 

Chuck gave a pleased hum against Raleigh’s lips, practically melting into him. His kissing was a bit sloppier than normal, but he seemed conscious of that, as he didn’t even try to use any tongue, content with the slide of lips on lips. When Raleigh slipped his tongue into his mouth, Chuck sucked on it gently, fingers now clenching over his side for grip. He pulled away, eyes even brighter, and licked his lips. “You are my favorite Becket,” he confided in a whisper.

 

“Yeah?” Raleigh said, and he sort of melted at the statement. Even if there wasn’t much competition. “I’m really glad, Chuck. You’re my favorite Chuck, you know.” He kissed his cheek and then slowly kissed down his neck before returning to Chuck’s mouth. He tasted slightly of tequila, but it was all right.

“Gentlemen?” Mako said, and Raleigh broke away and gave her a sheepish smile. She had three bananas in hand.

 

“What, no nutella?” Chuck asked, and Mako made a kind of quiet hiss at him, to which Chuck grinned wider.

He accepted a banana and peeled it, sliding it into his mouth and then out again, making eye contact with Raleigh while he did. “Bet I could fit this whole thing down my throat,” he said, eyeing it contemplatively.

“Please don’t,” Mako said.

Chuck licked the tip of it, and Mako threw up her hands. “He’s yours now, Raleigh,” she said, and beat a hasty retreat.

Chuck laughed, taking a few inches into his mouth and sucking lewdly on it.

 

Raleigh sighed. He had anticipated both these things, though - Mako didn’t owe him anything more, and Chuck was, of course, going to treat the banana like a dick. And he was the one who got miffed at him for all of the hot dog jokes.

“Chuck,” Raleigh said. “You are supposed to eat the banana. You’re just going to make it soft and...flaccid, doing that.”

 

“In a way, that is the end goal,” Chuck said in a tone of intense thought. He finally bit into it, chewing with his mouth open and grinning at Raleigh with mashed banana between his teeth. “This is your fault for ditching me with your stupid brother,” he added, breaking off a chunk with his fingers to pop it in his mouth.

 

“It is,” Raleigh agreed. There was no point arguing with a drunk. “I shouldn’t have left, but Mako asked to take a walk. She wanted to talk a little bit about her day off…” He trailed off, not wanting to lie, though Chuck was unlikely to remember it. Then again, it would be his luck. “I think I might have some crackers, too,” he said. Raleigh took the opportunity to walk away before Chuck could ask anymore questions, leaving him with his banana.

When he came back from the trunk with the Wheat Thins Chuck was thankfully on his second banana. Raleigh smiled at him. “Aren’t you a good boy?” he asked. Fair play, and all.

 

“I’m better ‘n good, mate,” Chuck said. “I’m the best. How come you didn’t say I’m your favorite Hansen? You’re not one of those…” A lot of Chuck’s numerous girlfriends, and boyfriends, in the past, had told him what they thought of his father, and it was… unnecessarily graphic, to say the least.

 

“I know more Chucks than Hansen’s,” Raleigh replied - he had an idea where Chuck was going with that. The trials of having a hot dad, he supposed. He knew Mako got a lot of the same, especially at camp. “But you’re definitely tied for my favorite Hansen. Max is pretty awesome. And he has a tail.”

 

“That’s fair,” Chuck agreed. “Can’t blame you for that.” He started peeling his third banana, ‘cause he was getting full and he needed to eat it before his stomach realized how little he wanted to. “I know two Beckets, but only one Raleigh, so…”

 

“Yeah, my mum had a thing for unusual names,” Raleigh replied, and he smiled at Chuck as he took down the third banana. “Yancy used to tease me that it was because I was conceived in...but it was after Sir Walter, I guess. Feel better?” Chuck had finished the third banana and looked vaguely nauseous, but it very well could have been all the banana.

 

“I never felt bad, this was just so you’d stop being all scoldy,” Chuck said, holding out the three banana peels with both hands. “Thus, these are your problem now. Now fetch me more water, farm boy.”

 

Raleigh sighed, took the bananas peels, and then walked for the fire. He dropped them in, grabbed a bottle of water, and then poured himself a shot of tequila. He figured he had earned it.

“Proof,” Yancy said, turning his head and grinning at him, “that Aussies are crazy.”

“Shut up,” Raleigh said.

“Real mature, Raleigh.”

Raleigh walked back over to the car. Chuck was a little slouched over when Raleigh handed him his water. “There you are,” he said. He stroked his hair a little bit more, since Chuck seemed to like that. And Raleigh was the puppy.

 

“Too many bananas,” Chuck told him, rubbing his hand in circles over his belly. “I feel fat. I should do sit-ups.” He lifted up his shirt and peered down at his bare stomach.

 

“No, no, bananas don’t count,” Raleigh replied. Chuck’s stomach was very nice to look at, though, still incredibly flat and with just the right amount of soft ginger hair. He put a hand on it and rubbed it, gently. “Does that help?”

 

Chuck giggled and squirmed. “I’m not a mini-Buddha, Rals,” he said, pushing Raleigh’s hand away. He hooked his finger through Raleigh’s belt loop and dragged him closer. “No tickling.”

 

Raleigh resisted the urge to tickle him and went back to stroking his hair. This was a piece of information worth filing away for later, though. Tickling. He could just imagine how Chuck would smile when that happened - and he could do with a repeat of that giggle. “You never know,” he said. “It might very well be good luck.”

 

“See how good your luck is when I punch you in the balls,” Chuck said, poking at the bulge in Raleigh’s pants - and Jesus, his dick was fucking huge, if it was visible even soft and tucked away in his underwear. He contemplated it for a moment, then looked up. “I’m gonna deep throat you.”

 

“No, no, parking lot,” Raleigh said. “And I, uh, like that you like it, really...but…” Oh, that was the last thing he needed, Chuck puking on his dick. “I’m...I’m good, thank you.” He smiled.

 

Chuck sighed, long and drawn-out. He appeared sincerely disappointed in Raleigh’s cognitive abilities. “I didn’t mean right _now_ ,” he said. “Just, before summer ends. Gonna deep throat you. I can only do most of you now, I wanna be nose-deep in your pubes by the end of it. Get you all the way down.” He smiled beatifically. “Not gonna let you come till you’re _crying_ for me.”

 

Raleigh swallowed and then took a very long inhale. _Fuck,_ he thought. “I thought you already did,” he managed. “Wasn’t that..? Oh.”

 

“Close,” Chuck said. He nuzzled Raleigh’s groin. “Almost. But not quite. I think I can do like, six inches? You’re…” He poked Raleigh again. “I’m gonna do it.”

 

“Well, don’t…” Raleigh’s dick was beginning to respond to this, so he cupped Chuck’s jaw and pulled his face up to look at him. “It feels really fucking amazing, so don’t...don’t strain yourself.” He nodded his head and licked his lips. And, much as having his cock buried deep in Chuck’s throat felt good, his tip was the most sensitive part and it felt great to have some attention paid to that, too. Now was not the time to give a measured critique, though.

 

Chuck looked at him, eyebrows raised. “Mate, have you met me? You really think I’d give up on something I wanna accomplish?” He flicked Raleigh’s hipbone with his middle finger. “That’d be like asking your idiot brother to not be a fuckwit, or you to not be a…” He paused. Raleigh didn’t seem to like being compared to a puppy, he remembered.

 

“Puppy?” Raleigh asked, resigned. “You want to say puppy, don’t you? It’s...OK, I understand. I’m working towards acceptance, actually, I think.”

 

“S’better than being a fuckwit, I reckon,” Chuck shrugged, nonchalant. “We work with what the good lord done gived us. Amen.” He strained upwards and petted Raleigh’s head. After a moment, he added, “The bananas didn’t work.”

 

“In what sense?” Raleigh asked, though he took a step back, just to be careful. “Do you want me to help?”

 

“Yeah nah, I just mean, I’m clearly still pissed as hell,” Chuck said, laughing at Raleigh’s quick shuffle away. He cracked open the water bottle Raleigh had brought and took a swig. “Might not be hungover in the morning, but damn I’m drunk now. Your brother…” He put on a lopsided smile.

 

“Well,” Raleigh said. The bananas had worked a little bit, as far as he was concerned, since Chuck could at least recognize his current state. “Yancy has got a lot of practice in, you know. Drinking and fuckwittery.”

 

Chuck nodded. He wasn’t gonna argue that one. Taking another swallow from the bottle, he smiled up at Raleigh. “I had a good weekend,” he said. “Almost perfect, even. Just a few things missing.”

 

“I’m glad,” Raleigh said, and he smiled back. “I did, too. But I am always willing to take suggestions for improvement, so..?”

 

“Max,” Chuck said immediately. “And sky diving.” He beamed. “Thanks for offering, love.”

 

Raleigh considered this. “We could maybe find a hotel that allows dogs,” he said. “And, uh, I can look into...sky diving.”

 

Chuck lowered the water bottle slowly, trying to read Raleigh’s face. If only he weren’t so fucking drunk, he thought. He opened his mouth, then shut it again. Finally, he said, “What do you want, then? Can’t always be about me.”

 

Raleigh considered this. There wasn’t much, really, but he knew he was going to sound too accommodating if he didn’t have something to offer. “Maybe catch a movie,” he said. “Spend a lot of time outdoors, so...you know, I actually could do with some inside.”

 

Chuck thought. “Okay,” he agreed. “I can do that.” He nodded slowly. “Yeah, I can do that, but you gotta find me a hotel that allows dogs first. Then we’ll talk.”

 

“Sure,” Raleigh said. “Just...what are we gonna do with Max when we, uh…” He wasn’t sure. Maybe Max had a crate or something. As much as everyone called Raleigh a puppy, he wasn’t quite sure how they worked.

 

“Guess we won’t be able to fuck, then,” Chuck said. He held a straight face for a minute, then a smile broke out and he grinned up at Raleigh. “Maybe we’ll let your Other Half tag along next time, or whatever. We’ll figure it out. Barring anything else, there’s always the bathroom.”

 

“Sounds good,” Raleigh said. “I will, uh, look into it.” He decided not to raise the very valid question - you trust Yancy with your fur child? He leaned in and kissed Chuck’s forehead, light. “And look forward to it. Too bad this weekend’s almost over.”

 

“Yeah, in a few hours you’ve gotta tell my father you let me get wasted-ass drunk on your watch,” Chuck said, laughing. “That’s gonna be a barrel of laughs for everyone.” He waited a beat. “Mostly me.”

 

“Well - wait,” Raleigh began to feel the distinct, beginning feelings of panic. “Does he know that you’re, uh, on my watch?”

 

“I told him I was going out with you this weekend,” Chuck said with a nod. “Didn’t define if anyone else was coming along. For all he knows, it’s the whole Scooby gang.” He screwed up his face. “There’s gotta be a more official name for that. The Scoobs? The Scooby Doo Mystery Solver Agency?”

 

“Um,” Raleigh said. “I think there is one, but...I don’t know it.” He exhaled and felt relieved. “Hopefully he does. Then I’ll still live. I like living. Pretty attached to it.”

 

Chuck gave a delighted laugh. “I was messing with you, mate, he’s not going to find out. I metabolize quickly. S’already wearing off, I can feel it. But good to know you’re such a wuss.” He smirked.

 

“I am not,” Raleigh said. “I saw your father wrestle an actual black bear last summer.” He didn’t add anymore - he had a pretty good idea of how the Hansen family dynamics went and he wasn’t going to poke at them now.

 

“A small one!” Chuck protested, which was barely even impressive.

He leaned against Raleigh’s lower belly again. “I’m tired,” he said, yawning. “Your dumb bananas put me to sleep.”

 

“Are you going to use my stomach as a pillow?” Raleigh asked, stroking Chuck’s hair again. He was really cute like this. Like an overgrown ginger wombat.

 

“I’d like to see you try’n stop me, Becket,” Chuck said, blinking drowsily up at him. He nuzzled Raleigh’s belly. “G’night.”

 

Well, that was that, Raleigh supposed. He glanced at his watch - Chuck would probably be nicely passed out in about five minutes and he could just sort of collapse him into the back seat of the car and then retrieve him when they needed to check in. He kept stroking Chuck’s hair and sighed.

He was definitely going to get Yancy for this.

 

* * * *

 

Yancy flipped the page of his book and glanced at his watch - excellent. Another twenty minutes before he was going to have to try and engage ten year olds in artistic pursuits.

He glanced around the waterfront for a moment. Raleigh had children crawling all over him in the water, all of them laughing and enjoying themselves. Tendo looked a lot more disgruntled, still trying to get two of his kids into the water even though they were halfway through lessons. Yancy laughed. Oh, Tendo. He had only come to camp after hearing Yancy’s stories about how much fun he had - no thought given to the fact he would actually need to look after children.

Distracted, he didn’t realize that a wild Hansen was approaching until it was too late.

 

Chuck wondered why the kayak site was Yancy’s preferred sunbathing spot. It had the most sun, sure, and there weren’t a lot of shrieking kids hanging around - but Chuck was there too, which was enough reason for Yancy to say away, Chuck reckoned.

“Hey, fuckwit,” he said, but not meanly. He dropped a bottle of suntan lotion on Yancy’s back as he walked by. “Don’t get what minimal brains you have cooked.”

 

“Mmm,” Yancy said. SPF 75 - very useful, he figured. “Except I can’t really apply that directly to my brain, can I?” He flipped the next page in his book.

 

Chuck rolled his eyes, lapsing into silence as he lathered up his arms and face with sunblock. He looked over his shoulder at Yancy, lips pursed. Time to bite the bullet, he thought.

Grabbing his backpack, he walked over and paused in front of him. “I got you something,” he said, and dug a plastic bag out from beneath his books. He dropped it in front of Yancy.

It was a lot harder to think of quintessentially American foods than it was for Yancy to find him Tim Tams and Vegemite. Most American foods were fast food, and either inconvenient or just gross to leave in his backpack for days. But he’d finally settled on a package of Oreos (with an American flag proudly decorating the packaging, of course) and a vacuum-sealed pack of cured halibut jerky, as a reference to Yancy and Raleigh’s Alaskan upbringing. If Yancy didn’t like it (or even understand it, more relevantly), at least Chuck tried.

He thought the, uh, peace offering element to it was implied.

 

Well, look at that, Yancy thought. He had hoped that his former offering would be reciprocated - not necessarily directly, but it looked like he was going to be stuck with Chuck Hansen for the summer and so they might as well at least tolerate one another.

Good thing, too, because Raleigh Becket was fucking smitten with this angry little koala. He’d let the fucker fall asleep on his stomach the other night, infinitely patient with his drunk ass. Why, Yancy had no idea. He had to be amazing in bed.

“Oh, hey!” Yancy said. “I love halibut - how did you know, Chuck?” He cradled the probably horrific jerky close to his chest and grinned at Chuck. He was definitely feeding this to his fourteen year-olds, somehow, and it was going to be amazing. “The Oreos are really appreciated, though. I’ve had a legitimate craving.” He smiled at him.

 

“Yeah, I didn’t really think you’d want the jerky, but WIkipedia said -” Chuck started, and then shut his jaw with an audible click. _You dumbass_ , he told himself. Now Yancy was going to mock him again and he was going to get angry again, just when things were actually starting to go well.

 

“No, it’s from Alaska,” he said. “It’s, uh, not the best for jerky, but...not like there are too many fresh fish markets around here. Although who knows - want to try some?” He opened it up, appreciating Chuck’s effort. Didn’t actually smell too bad. And, to show he legitimately appreciated the effort, he broke off a piece and ate it. “Huh.”

 

Chuck watched, slightly amazed. Wow, Yancy really was trying. Damn, that meant Chuck had to put effort into maintaining a healthy, stable relationship with both Becket boys. It probably would have been easier to stay on bad terms with Yancy, but then Raleigh would be all -

It would be more trouble than it was worth, is all. “Good huh or bad huh?”

 

“I don’t know,” Yancy said. He stuck another piece in and considered it. Chewy, salty, not nearly as bad as some fish products that he had bought. “Here, you try.” He held the bag out to Chuck.

That’s right, Hansen, Yancy thought, as he held the bag out to Chuck.

Oh, even better. Raleigh was divested of children. “Raleigh! C’mere, we need your opinion.”

 

Chuck narrowed his eyes at the implicit challenge and reached into the bag, pulling out the first piece he touched. It was a big one, and he stuck it in his mouth and tore it in half with his teeth.

He was from fucking Australia. Did Yancy really think he’d be scared off by a little seafood?

“S’alright,” he said. “Not a lot of flavor besides salt, but that’s most jerky, so.”

 

Raleigh closed his eyes and prayed to the Gods of...whatever that Yancy and Chuck were behaving themselves, because after having a bunch of children use him like an aqua jungle gym he was not in the mood for their immaturity. “Uh, yeah?” he asked. Chuck had just swallowed something.

“Chuck got me jerky,” Yancy said, and held the bag out towards Raleigh. It smelled a little fishy, and Raleigh almost vocalized this but then realized that this was exactly what Yancy wanted.

“Oh, Alaskan halibut,” Raleigh said, and he smiled at Chuck. “Who knew they made fish jerky?” He reached in and grabbed a chunk. “Huh, that’s not bad. Mostly salty.”

 

So, this was a lovely little pow-wow, and now Chuck wanted to leave. He had made the effort, and yes Raleigh could coo over him for it later, but for the moment, he was chafing under the attention.

“Yeah, um, enjoy,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. He started to walk away. “And don’t eat all the Oreos at once, fatty,” he called back to Yancy.

Tendo came up next to Raleigh. “Oreos?” he said hopefully, then saw what Yancy was holding. “That’s not Oreos.”

 

“You have to eat some, though, dude, we all did,” Yancy said, and wiggled the bag in his face. “Chuck got it for me.” He waved at Chuck as he headed back over towards the kayak deck, presumably to get ready for his upcoming less. “It was an incredibly thoughtful-”

“Just, stop,” Raleigh said, wondering where Yancy had tucked the Oreos away. He needed some after that fish jerky.

 

Tendo took a piece of jerky, but didn’t eat it. He had big plans to throw it away when Yancy wasn’t looking. “Yeah, how are things going with Baby Hansen?” He pushed his sunglasses up onto his head. Then added, “Oh wait, I promised Mako she could be here for this conversation.” Waited a beat. “Eh, she’ll live.”

 

“You think you’re being sneaky, Choi?” Yancy demanded, and waved his hand at the jerky Tendo had palmed. “Just eat it - not even fishy.”

“Fine,” Raleigh answered, hoping to sneak his response in while the two of them of them acted like dick heads about fish jerky.

 

“It is a fish, there is no way it is not fishy,” Tendo said, eyeing the jerky distrustfully. “And how fine? Very fine or sorta fine? I have to assume you were an enormous let-down, after the way he immediately got _trashed_ when you got back.”

 

“OK, it is a little fishy, but mostly salty,” Yancy said. “You know-”

“No, don’t, please,” Raleigh said. He looked around for children, hoping that he could point to their delicate sensibilities, but they had all disappeared. Little fuckers were never around when you needed them. “And he didn’t get trashed because of...things. It was because you two decided to be...wankers.” It took him a moment to find a term that did not involve ass or dick.

 

“My god, you’re turning into him,” Tendo said, laughter in his voice. He nibbled at the jerky. “This is literally just salt and fish, what is the point? Anyway, he wasn’t even limping when you got back, so -” He smirked at Raleigh. “So what am I supposed to think about that?”

 

“Why would he be limping?” Raleigh asked, legitimately confused. “Unlike days off with you, it’s not like we jumped off of dubious cliffs that the Weis just happened to find or tried to do drunk sports.”

 

“You do know how big your dick is, right?” Tendo asked, holding his hands about 10 inches apart. “I mean, getting that thing shoved up your ass…” He winced. “Anyway, I take it Baby Hansen wasn’t up for it?”

 

“My dick is not-” Raleigh sighed. “Why are you so fascinated with my dick, anyway?” He glanced down at his swim trunks and frowned slightly. It was just a dick.

 

Tendo sighed. “It’s a damn waste,” he lamented. “You Becket boys, never taking advantage of your God-given assets. A damn shame, I say. Can’t even fuck the angry ginger gremlin right.”

 

“Gremlin?” Raleigh asked - that didn’t really seem fair. Chuck was plenty of things, but he was definitely attractive.

“What asset am I neglecting?” Yancy asked - and he was also giving Tendo a suspicious look.

 

Tendo whistled innocently, casting his gaze up. After a moment, he broke, grinning at Yancy. “C’mon man, you know… You got serious junk in your trunk, and you don’t even wear tight jeans. What’s up with that?”

 

Raleigh looked over at Yancy and put a hand over his mouth to cover his smile. Yancy looked legitimately appalled and was rapidly turning red. “You mean my…” he turned around, trying to get a view of his own ass. “Junk in the trunk? Is that something women even like?”

 

“Beckets!” Tendo said like a curse, shaking his fist. “I swear, what I would do - and you two just squander it. His dick, your ass, his abs, your Captain America hair…” Tendo trailed off. “This is getting kind of gay, huh.”

 

“Really gay, actually,” Yancy said, and grinned at Tendo. “Besides, you have Elvis hair.”

“Also,” Raleigh said, because he had decided that he was going to own his preferences instead of getting pushed around by dickheaded guys - because look how well it had turned out for him, “what do you mean, I didn’t fuck him right? Just because I didn’t fuck him?”

 

Tendo broke off from glaring at Yancy to nod at Raleigh. “We’re out of high school, darling, I think we’re beyond furtive blowjobs and necking, yes? And there is literally nothing you can say to convince me Hansen wouldn’t benefit from a dick up his ass.”

 

“Maybe I really benefitted from a dick up my ass,” Raleigh replied. Probably a little too quickly. Though the groaning sound that Yancy made was worth it.

 

Tendo’s eyebrows skyrocketed. “Hel _lo_ , gamechanger. I did not see that coming.” He stroked his chin. “Although now that I’m thinking about it, I see it. How’d he do? Awkward and fumbly? For some reason, the word ‘elbow-y’ keeps popping to mind.”

 

Raleigh didn’t really appreciate Tendo’s reaction - this was the sort of thing that had made him go slightly red every time someone talked about this sort of thing. “Didn’t see that coming - what, that I’d like getting dicked?”

“Oh my god,” said Yancy, and he turned around and bent over to collect his towel, book, and sun screen.

 

“Raleigh,” said Tendo, a little carefully because he didn’t often see Raleigh angry and he tried to avoid it whenever possible. “This is not about you. Not that I think this will help, because you appear to be very protective of Baby Hansen, but - I mean, you’ve seen him.” He looked over at Chuck, who was watching the approach of his next group of campers with a very unhappy frown on his face. “He doesn’t strike me as someone who has much experience in that department.”

 

Raleigh grinned. “Well, then you’ve read that wrong,” he said. “Because he _definitely_ knows exactly what to do with his-” Raleigh stopped, then, catching the smile that was spreading across Yancy’s face. “Uh, I mean…”

Yancy wrapped his arm around him and grinned at him. “Aw, Rals, I knew you had the face of someone who’d got properly fucked.”

 

Tendo’s lips spread in a matching grin. “So the little koala knows how to move, huh? Do tell.” He looked at Chuck with newfound respect.

 

“I did,” Raleigh said, and felt himself seize up a little bit. “I mean, what do you need to know - for someone who goes on about how straight you are you seem awful interested in cock size and dicking.”

“He’s got a point, Tendo,” Yancy said.

 

“How heteronormative of you,” Tendo said loftily, then pursed his lips. “Homonormative? Anyway, I can be perfectly comfortable in my sexuality and still express curiosity about _Baby Hansen_ knowing how to fuck _,_ because what?” He shook his head.

 

“Well, he does,” Raleigh said, and punctuated this with a nod. “And it’s not anything -normative, you’re the one who makes a big show about being straight, that’s all. It’s ok to embrace your bi-curiosity. You and Yancy could explore it together.”

 

“Please,” Tendo said, shooting Yancy a look. “I have much better taste than that.” He looked back at Chuck. “I mean, I hear Hansen’s a great fuck, so…” _Ooh, too far_? he wondered.

 

Raleigh smirked at him. “Well,” he said. “You could try. But I hear he has a thing for big cocks and washboard abs, so…” He decided that was a good note to end on and headed back for the swim dock, leaving Tendo with Yancy.

 

“Our little pumpkin is growing up,” Tendo commented to Yancy, miming brushing a tear from his eye. “And now we must watch him leave the nest, off to fulfill his destiny of getting fucked by angry Aussies with bad hair.”

 

Yancy shook his head as Raleigh walked off, shoulders square as he got back onto the swim dock. He was sort of proud of him. He’d spent years rolling around and just generally not advocating for what he wanted in relationships, at least sexually, so this was a good first step. “His hair isn’t _that_ bad?” Yancy said. “And that was a really mixed metaphor, dude.”

 

Tendo rolled his eyes. Typical Yancy, missing the point (or at least acting like he did). “Beckets,” Tendo grumbled, and went back to his swim lessons.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fuck i forgot how much sex there is in this. there is so much sex in this rp.
> 
> remember that warning about size kink objectification and also bisexual stereotyping!
> 
> enjoy?

 

Raleigh should have seen him coming - Yancy did a little before he did, and tried to dodge and make a complete turn, like he had forgot something at the mess hall. It was only then that Raleigh looked up and nearly walked straight into Herc Hansen. “Sir,” he said. None of the other senior counselors got that kind of address, but Herc and Stacker just sort of commanded it.

 

“Beckets!” Herc said, clapping Raleigh’s shoulder. “Oi, Yance, where you off to in such a rush?” He kept his arm slung around Raleigh, halfway between companionable and a restraining hold.

 

“I, uh, just…” Yancy smiled at Herc. There was no getting out of this - no doubt he wanted to have a little chat with them, since they’d spent their last two days off with his kid. Yancy wondered if Herc thought he’d been involved in last week as well. “Just thought I might have forgot something at the mess, but...nope. I am good.”

 

“Fantastic,” Herc said, beaming toothily. “Was looking for someone to do a sweep of the grounds with me. I ‘ppreciate the company.” He started to lead them away. “Now, tell me, how ya goin’? Have a good weekend?”

 

“Yes,” said Raleigh, and he gave Yancy a little nudge. Right then. Definitely enjoyed his past weekend off with Chuck Hansen, angry ginger koala or whatever the fuck Tendo was referring to him as.

“Absolutely,” Yancy said. “Love it here, but always good to get a day to decompress, you know?”

 

“I understand completely,” Herc said. “So what’d you boys get up to? Something pretty exciting, I reckon.”

 

“Not really,” Raleigh said - maybe too quickly. “Went to Lake Placid, uh, drove up and then climbed White Face Mountain…” _Aw, Raleigh,_ Yancy thought, because what an adorable first date.

 

“Zat so?” Herc said, turning his gaze to Yancy. “How’d you like the hike, Yancy?” He raised an eyebrow.

 

“I am not much of a hiker,” Yancy said. “Reason I sit around in the craft shack, eh?” Raleigh gave him a sort of pleading look that Yancy was not going to indulge. He was willing to bet Herc could smell fear and lies.

 

“Mmm, that’s gotta be a point of contention with you and my boy,” Herc mused aloud. He smiled at Yancy. “You get along with him? I know he’s a bit of a tosser sometimes, but…”

 

“Who isn’t?” Yancy asked, and he shut a look at Raleigh. He nodded his head. “Chuck’s trying to get Raleigh to go bungee jumping or some shit. Lots of fun, right, Rals?” Poor Raleigh, he thought. Kid peed himself on an amusement park ride when they got stuck at the top as a kid and it had been all over from there.

 

“Is that so,” Herc said again, more of a statement than a question this time. He smiled. “Well, ‘m glad he’s got good mates like you, lookin’ after him.” He released Raleigh and grabbed Yancy instead, fingers curling around the back of his neck. “You’re a good mate, right, Yancy?”

 

“I am an excellent mate,” Yancy said. “Not that, uh, Chuck needs much looking after...very, uh, self-sufficient.” He grinned at Raleigh, looking for help. Not that he was going to get it. Raleigh was just swallowing, long and hard, and nodding his head for no real reason.

 

“Oi!” came a call from behind them, as Chuck wandered over from the climbing wall. Max tagged along at his heels, and he had his pack over his back. He reached in and pulled out two Tim Tams, handing one to Herc.

Herc perked up. “You flew back to Oz without telling me?”

Chuck snorted. “Nah, they’re from Yancy.”

Herc’s eyebrows rose.

Chuck noticed the way Herc’s hand was still wrapped around Yancy’s neck, and a wicked glint lit up in his eyes. “Yeah, he’s so thoughtful, and sweet, and…” He smiled at Yancy, biting his lip.

“An excellent mate?” Herc said.

“Yeah,” Chuck breathed out.

Herc’s smile sharpened.

 

Yancy grinned back at them. _Fine,_ he thought, _you Aussie cunts, you want to play like this?_

Raleigh’s eyes were wide as he took this in and then he crouched down and held his hand out to Max. “Aw, hey, handsome,” he said, and scrunched his face before he began to pet his ears.

“Well…” Yancy said, and he really wished Herc would let him go. “What can I say? Hard not to be, considering…”

 

“Considering…?” Chuck said, one eyebrow raised.

Herc took his hand away, only to cross his arms over his chest. His biceps bulged.

 

“Well, you just make it so easy,” Yancy said. “To be a mate.”

“Max is a good mate,” Raleigh said, pushing Max’s face into his own. “Aren’t you?”

 

Chuck blinked. “I don’t even know what that means… _mate_.” God dammit, he hadn’t actually meant to fuck things up again. Apparently the Australian sense of humor was not accessible to the American psyche.

He sighed internally. Time to go buy some more halibut. Maybe he’d go for salmon this time, stir things up.

 

Yancy wasn’t even sure what was going on anymore. No one seemed to be. He supposed he should consider that a success. “I don’t either, actually,” he said, and he shrugged.

“Using mate like fuck,” Raleigh said, slowly, still smushing Max’s face. “Honestly, and everyone says I’m the dense one.” He shook his head.

 

Chuck smacked the back of Raleigh’s head, but gently. “Yeah, I got that much, cheers.” He leaned down and kissed Raleigh on the lips, soft but lingering. “Right, well, bye.” Then he walked away, whistling for Max to follow.

Herc looked at Raleigh. He raised his eyebrows, seeming to silently ask for an explanation.

 

Yancy couldn’t help but laugh and grin. _How do you like them apples?_ he thought. Throw your brother to the dingoes and try and just hang out with the dog.

“Well,” said Raleigh. He gave Herc one of those earnest little smiles of his. “Huh.”

 

“Huh,” Herc echoed. Then he turned to Yancy with a glare. “And don’t think I didn’t notice you calling my son a skank.”

“Wait, what?” Yancy asked. “Doesn’t mate mean friend?”

“I think we’re dating,” Raleigh added, and he nodded his head. Yancy resisted the urge to groan. “Actually that probably means we are.”

 

Herc patted Raleigh on the head. “Yeah, you saying he makes it easy to be a mate, I’m sure you meant friendly-like.” He growled, but not nearly at his peak decibel. “Either you’re stupid, or you think I am.”

 

“I’m going with me being stupid, sir,” said Yancy.

“I would agree,” Raleigh said. Yancy wanted to punch his stupid face.

 

“Christ, I’ve got a nimrod watching over my campers,” Herc said, then smiled. “I’m just messing with you, boys. Raleigh, s’good to have you in the family. If you take advantage of him, I’m gonna fillet you.”

 

“Oh, I would expect nothing less,” Raleigh said.

Yancy nodded his head, resisting the urge to ask _isn’t everyone watching over your campers a nimrod?_ You sort of had to be, to think this was an acceptable way to spend your summer.

That, or be orphans. _Oh, yeah, that got dark fast._

 

Herc narrowed his eyes again. “Since you’re so compliant, Becket Jr, what were you doing with my son this weekend, if your brother and his shadow weren’t there to chaperone? You and my boy, alone at Lake Placid… Could make a bloke suspicious, yeah?”

 

Yancy grinned at Raleigh, who looked like he was going to piss himself. “Well,” said Raleigh. “We went up White Face Mountain. And had some hot dogs.” He smiled.

 _Oh, Raleigh,_ thought Yancy.

 

Herc almost broke, but mastered his smile in time, turning it toothier, more predatory. “Is that some kind of fucked-up innuendo?” he said, tapping his pointer finger against his bicep.

 

“No!” Raleigh said. “Um, there is a really great little hotdog and ice cream place there, and I thought, you know, very American...might as well experience those things, right?” He gave Herc one of those puppy looks of his, the kind nearly no one could resist - this was the puppy that had peed on the floor but was hoping that by looking at you cute enough you completely forgot about the transgression.

 

Now Herc just stared at him flatly. “You think my son’s never eaten a hot dog before? Kid, you know he’s spent every summer here since he was 13, yeah?”

 

“Uh…” Raleigh said. “Yes. But maybe not on a lake?”

 _Oh my god,_ Yancy thought.

 

Herc damn near _gaped_ , in awe of Raleigh’s sheer -

Christ, these idiot boys.

“You may be too dumb to date my kid,” Herc said, a bit blank. “I…” He started to walk away, shaking his head, and called, “Chuck? We need to have words, son.”

 

Raleigh opened his mouth and then frowned - and looked very much like a kicked puppy. “I-”

“That was a really dumb thing to say,” Yancy said, putting his arm in front of Raleigh. “He’s made Dean’s List each semester!” He called - after all, what are big brothers for?

 

Herc ignored this. “Chuck!” he said again. Then he turned around and grinned at Raleigh, still shaking his head in amazement. “Christ, you little bastards are gonna be the death of me,” he said, and walked off.

 

“Oh no,” Raleigh said.

“It’s OK,” Yancy said. “I mean, Herc might be concerned with your intelligence, but I’m sure that there are other attributes that, uh, Chuck is more concerned with.” Yancy nearly said washboard abs and eight inch dick, but who knew if Herc was still within earshot?

Raleigh turned red.

 

“You better be talking about some really prime dance moves, Becket!” Herc called back. “Or you’ll have more to worry about than my impression of your intelligence.” He grinned what Chuck had dubbed his ‘shark face.’

Stacker was walking by and heard this. He mimed wrestling, and then held his hands up in the shape of claws, bearing his teeth, to signify ‘bears.’ Then he bent his head towards Herc and whispered something that made him laugh and look back over his shoulder at the Beckets.

 

“I think we should slowly back away,” Raleigh said to Yancy.

“That is probably a very good idea,” Yancy replied. “Pretend like we see a child in need in the distance.” Raleigh nodded his head and then pointedly looked into the distance, like he was in a bad high school drama production. Then they both began to walk in the other direction.

 

“Those idiot boys,” Stacker said to Herc, who nodded.

 

* * *

 

“Hey, so,” Yancy said, this time approaching Hansen in his natural habitat at the kayak dock. “Rals said we’re bringing Max along tonight?” Yancy was surprised Herc Hansen would allow this, considering he probably questioned whether the Beckets would be able to remember to breathe regularly, let alone look after his precious second child.

 

Chuck straightened up from where he was untangling life-vests. “Oh, did he find a hotel that’d allow it?” He smiled, then added, “He’s good company.”

 

“Yeah, looks like it,” Yancy said. Raleigh had marched up on he and Tendo in the mess hall and announced that they were going to some town they’d never heard of. “Some place called Old Forge. And I’m sure he is - I’ll find out, anyway, we’re probably going to spend some quality time together.”

 

Chuck shot him a suspicious look. “Only if you have the ability to look after another living creature without like, accidentally drowning either him or yourself.” He pulled apart another pair of tangled vests. “My old man told me how your talk with him went after I left.”

 

“Well,” said Yancy. “To be fair, most of that was Raleigh.” Especially if Chuck was referring to _after_ he left - he had been there for Yancy’s little mate/mate debacle. “But, even if I am not the lifeguard out of the two of us, I assure you, I would not let Max drown.”

 

“Yeah, I figured,” Chuck said, shrugging. “Don’t give him too many treats, he’ll fart all over you.” _This is a gesture,_ he tried to communicate telepathically. _I am making a gesture, fuckwit._ Max was more important to him than pretty much anything, and handing him over to this tosser was hard, but…

 

“Aw, I was going to say the same about Raleigh,” Yancy replied, and smiled at Chuck.

 

Chuck finally relaxed, looking straight at Yancy for the first time. His smile deepened, dimples flashing. “The old man’s not impressed, y’know. You could have done a _little_ more to help him out instead of letting him flail.”

 

“He said that he took you to eat hot dogs,” Yancy said, “and then tried to save himself by stating that he was trying to give you an American experience. Your dad then pointed out that you have been here each summer since you were 13 and had hot dogs before. And then he said, _but maybe not by a lake._ ” Yancy arched his eyebrow. There was nothing that could be done with that. He couldn’t have helped at all. “I am not sure what I could have done with that one.”

 

“Oh god,” Chuck said blankly. “Oh - oh no. I think he’s too dumb for me to date.” He covered his face. “Christ,” he said into his hands.

 

“Now, now,” said Yancy. “We all say astoundingly dumb things when confronted with, uh, parents of the people we’re dating. And, you know, I don’t think he meant it that way.” He paused as Chuck looked at him. “Also, you know, he’s got a 3.9.”

 

Chuck just looked at him, all like _Am I supposed to be impressed_? “GPA doesn’t have anything to do with being a dumbshit.” He thought better of this and sighed, then said, “I’m not calling him a dumbshit, so don’t freak out at me. Wouldn’t date him if I actually thought that.”

 

“It’s OK,” Yancy said. “He can be a bit of a dumbshit.” He shrugged his shoulders. “So you’re dating, then, huh?” Chuck seemed so casual about it when Raleigh had sort of been flapping his hands about not wanting to ask because he didn’t want to be pushy or needy or whatever hang up it as he had. Yancy never understood his brothers romantic difficulties - although, if he said stuff like the lake comment…

 

Chuck shrugged. “For now, yeah. We’ve gone on dates, we’re fucking, I assume we’re monogamous. Should probably run that by him though.” He looked thoughtful, then turned to Yancy with a frown. “Does Raleigh not think so?”

 

Yancy’s eyes widened. _Well, that fucking backfired,_ he thought. “I’m sure he’d be very...pleased to hear you think that,” he said, hoping that was enough.

 

“Hm,” said Chuck, seemingly unconvinced. He worked his jaw for a moment. “S’probably better that way,” he said, as if to himself.

 

“Oh, shit,” Yancy said. “Which is to say, he...look, I don’t like going above Raleigh’s head, but I’m assuming you’ve noticed he can get a little…” He waved his hand a bit. “He would never say you were dating unless you said it first, just because…” Yancy sighed. “Fuck, that was just an illustration of how - when you don’t want to say something directly - it just goes to shit.”

 

Chuck held up both hands, looking a little panicked. “Whoa, hang up, I wasn’t tryna…” He half-turned away, rubbing the back of his head. “I, uh, it’s like I said, though - I’m not looking to take any baggage with me to uni. It’s probably better if we didn’t try to get too serious about it, is what I was going for.” _Because I’m breaking up with him at the end of the summer_ , he didn’t say, but he felt it was implied.

 

 _Well,_ Yancy thought, getting exactly what Chuck was saying. He felt a little protective of Raleigh - but then again, what was to say Raleigh wanted to go into school with some long distance, high maintenance douchenozzle for a boyfriend? Even if he was really good at sex. “Heey,” Yancy said. “I was just trying not to...you know, fuck things up for him,” he said.

 

“Oh, it’s - whatever,” Chuck said, flapping a hand to demonstrate his indifference to anything and everything Yancy had to say. He cracked a smile. “Haven’t seen much of him since my old man talked to you lot. How’d he take it?”

 

“Oh, you know, embarrassed at saying something so profoundly stupid - but I told him Stacker and Herc have long though we were idiots, so...and, well, general fear was present,” said Yancy. “Raleigh must have seen your dad wrestle a different bear.”

 

Chuck shook his head. “What an absolute tool,” he said, but fondly. “I could tell him Herc was just messing with him, but I think I’ll let him squirm.” He grinned. “Let him think Herc actually cares if I’m having sex, heh.”

 

Yancy was pretty sure that wasn’t what had Raleigh unnerved, but he wasn’t going to spell this out to Chuck. “Yeah, well, Raleigh doesn’t have that much experience with-” he stopped instantly and pressed his lips together. He hadn’t meant it that way, but-

 

“I mean, he can’t _actually_ think my father’s going to beat him up,” Chuck said, as if it were obvious. “And what does that mean, doesn’t have much experience with - I know he hasn’t had as much sex as I have…?”

 

“No, he doesn’t think that,” Yancy said, and regretted opening his mouth. “Experience with parents, I meant. Dealing with parents.” He also turned his head, slightly - Hansen Junior was three years younger than Raleigh, and it wasn’t like Rals was hurting when it came to sex, so how many people had Chuck fucked? Or fucked Chuck, as it were?

 

“Oh, yeah, I figured that,” Chuck said. “He’s said some things, I reckoned he isn’t…” He rubbed his chin. “So what’s he so worried about, then? What’s he think m’father’s gonna do to him?”

 

“No idea,” Yancy said. “Guess he just figures Herc doesn’t take any shit, so...fear of the unknown is a powerful thing.” He shrugged his shoulders. Chuck didn’t give any fucks, which was why it was hard to explain wanting people to actually like you and think you were good for their child.

 

Chuck chalked this up to another inexplicable facet of Raleigh’s personality and gave up on thinking about it. “So it’s you and Dickwad 2 tagging along with? Whatever happened to your girl situation?”

 

“Oh, um,” Yancy said. “Mako’s coming too with Alona, Imogene, and Sasha. Dickwad 2 is the one who is currently experiencing a situation, though.” Yancy smiled slightly.

 

Chuck nodded, but didn’t seem too interested in pursuing the subject. “Just to clarify, we’re not sharing rooms, right? If I get drunk enough, s’not gonna stop me from, uh, so it’s probs a better idea for everyone.”

 

Yancy resisted the urge to make a comment on how touchy-feely Chuck got when he was drunk enough. “No, Rals said you two were getting a room - and there was a sort of suite available for us, so, it worked out. And he booked Max in both.” Raleigh was the most conscientious little planner.

 

“God,” Chuck said, rolling his eyes with a smile. “He better not expect any sort of thanks besides blowjobs. Maybe I’ll let him have his hands free this time, too.” He smirked.

 

Yancy narrowed his eyes - things he did not care to know about. Christ, what were kids up to these days? “Riight,” he said. “Anyway, I’ve got a class before we get to peace out, so...I am going to go and do that.” He smiled at Chuck and then turned before he could tell him about the anal beads he was bringing along this week.

 

This felt like a victory, Chuck thought. He fist-pumped.

American prudes.

 

* * * *

 

Everyone was settled into the hotel room, and it was pretty identical to that first weekend - people sitting around talking, Tendo and Yancy chatting up some of the girls while Mako and Raleigh took the couch. Chuck had been talking to Imogene, who he thought maybe he should get to know better because she seemed pretty cool, when Max kind of shuffled towards the door with a reproachful look back at Chuck. Oh, right, that.

Chuck grabbed the leash and made his excuses to Imogene, walking to the door. He knelt down and clipped the leash onto Max’s collar, then straightened up, looking back at Raleigh. Once he’d caught his eye, he tipped his head to the door with one eyebrow raised in a silent invitation.

 

“I’m going to go with Chuck and Max, OK?” Raleigh said to Mako. She nodded her head and smiled at Imogene, who had now also lost her conversation partner. Raleigh stood and slid his flipflops on and then followed Chuck out the door.

“He’s pretty good about that, isn’t he?” Raleigh asked, and he wrapped his arms around himself. They’d gone deeper and higher into the mountains and the night air was already bordering on chilly - though he liked it, maybe he could use it as an excuse to cuddle up to Chuck just a little bit.

 

“He’s good company,” Chuck said, because the phrasing was on his mind after talking to Yancy before. Reminded of that, he looked at Raleigh and asked, with a nonchalance that wasn’t even feigned (because it wasn’t that difficult to see that Raleigh was pretty much _gone_ for him), “We’re dating, yeah?”

Chuck wasn’t one to let things fester.

 

Raleigh looked at him and his eyes widened. He presumed that this meant Chuck was OK with this designation. “Yeah,” he said.

He opened his mouth to add something, but then remembered that this had never served him well in the past - not with Chuck, or anyone. And hadn’t he also learned that being direct and open about what you wanted yielded good results?

 

Chuck smiled, but it didn’t quite meet his eyes, distant and distracted. Raleigh was really generous and sensitive - but Yancy hadn’t said anything, when Chuck referenced this being a temporary arrangement, so…

He worked his jaw around. Then shook his head, expression clearing. “Damn,” he said, voice light. “And I was so hoping to shack up with the giant Russian, too. What are your feelings on monogamy?”

 

“Ah,” said Raleigh. “I think in that instance it would be fine...but you’re going to have to take on Sasha for a piece of him, and I bet she’s vicious in a fight.” There was something Chuck wasn’t saying - and Raleigh could kind of guess what it was. He wasn’t going to push it. He was going to enjoy his summer and his time with Chuck, and… well, fall was still a long way off.

 

Chuck laughed. “Yeah, I’m not touching that one. What about your brother? There rules for him?” He smirked. “I hear tell he’s an excellent mate.”

 

Raleigh wasn’t entirely sure how to respond to that. “From his own mouth, I believe,” he said. “So take that for what it’s worth.” He waved his hand in Yancy’s general direction.

 

“Yeah, ‘cause I’m so into douchebags,” Chuck said, catching Raleigh’s hand and weaving his fingers through it. “S’why I’m dating the actual personification of a golden retriever puppy, ya kna?”

 

Raleigh smiled as Chuck’s fingers wrapped around his and then pouted when he realized that his reaction had basically proven Chuck’s point. “I should probably just accept that,” he said.

 

“The amount you like being petted, mate, I’m surprised you haven’t already,” Chuck said, reaching up with his free hand to stroke over Raleigh’s hair. Max’s leash, which was looped around his wrist, went taut and forced Max to take a few steps closer to them, garnering Chuck another reproachful glance from his dog. He felt bad - two puppies to split his attention between, and all.

 

“It’s not petting,” Raleigh said, and he glanced down at Max - the dog definitely thought Raleigh was moving in on his territory. _My Chuck!_ his gaze said. _Yeah, well, Chuck and I do things that you and he hopefully definitely do not,_ Raleigh replied. “It’s stroking.”

Stroking was much more adult.

 

“Petting,” Chuck corrected. He grinned. “Heavy petting, sometimes, but if you wanna call that stroking I’m not gonna stop you.”

He pulled his hand away to take Max’s leash off his wrist, looping it in a loose knot through his belt so he had both hands free to tug Raleigh closer, settling them on his hips.

 

Raleigh grinned at the contact between them and leaned in to kiss Chuck on the lips - light, at first, and then with a bit more pressure. He put a hand to Chuck’s jaw and was pleased when Chuck leaned into it.

He had some ideas for tonight. Not that he was averse to other things, but...he wanted to show Chuck what he could do after their last encounter.

 

Chuck allowed the kiss to continue until Raleigh’s hand kind of slid into his hair and tugged, and then he had to rip away, licking his lips. “Might wanna put a hold on that unless you wanna get arrested for public indecency. I mean, I’m always up for a thrill, but you seem a little kid-friendly for that.”

 

“Well,” said Raleigh. “I certainly don’t want to traumatize your dog.” Max was looking at him with an expression that indicated he thought that Raleigh had a lot of nerve, molesting Max’s human. “Plus that would probably fuck up my law school applications, or whatever.”

 

Chuck was going to stand up for Max (he was a tough fucker, he could take it) but he got distracted before the words left his mouth. “Law school, huh? Funny, I’d have picked your brother for that,” he mused aloud. “So what, Pre-law then?”

He didn’t know much about Amherst’s law program. He hadn’t checked out anything besides their architecture degree, so the only law programs he really knew about were UChicago, Harvard, and Yale. But Amherst was good at everything.

Smarmy fucks.

 

“Oh, no, I just…” Raleigh shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve got a history major and no idea what I want to do with myself, so everyone’s always saying law school. I figured getting arrested for fucking in public might put a damper on that, though.”

It was the sensible thing to do, though - even if he didn’t have student loans to pay off, he was going to have get an actual adult job doing something and it wasn’t like people were going to pay him to do research on very specific subjects and time periods and write them papers on it. Or, if this magical job existed, someone a lot smarter than him would get hired for it.

 

“Law school or getting a PhD so you can teach,” Chuck said, nodding. “Gotta say, I feel bad for you directionless bludgers. I’ve had big plans to be a trophy wife since I was a wee little sprog.” He poked Raleigh in the ribs. “If you get successful, maybe I’ll give you a ring.”

 

Raleigh considered this and then nodded his head - he and his adviser had talked about some other options. “I suppose this is where I should give you a talk about the value of a liberal arts education,” he said. “Which basically means, uh, yeah, career in evil or academia for me...not entirely sure you’d make the best trophy wife, though.”

 

“I probably shouldn’t be offended by that, and yet…” Chuck said, looking ponderous. He actually was kind of insulted - not at the idea of being a bad trophy wife per se, but just, the suggestion that he wouldn’t be great at anything he set his mind to. Way too embarrassing to admit, though. “Guess I’ll have to fall back on architecture, damn.”

 

“Oh,” Raleigh said. “I was just thinking, you know...you seem to be pretty active and have a lot of hobbies. Sitting around drinking, gossiping, and tanning probably wouldn’t be your style. Though I guess if you wanted to be good at it…” He shrugged.

 

Chuck smirked, eyes half-lidded. “Oh, is that how you think of trophy wives? I was going with the other trope, you know… Young and hot and spending my husband’s money on whatever I want, maybe rooting the hot pool boy on the side.” He smacked Raleigh’s ass, then scratched Max behind the ears in apology for ignoring him.

 

“Oh, yeah, that too,” Raleigh said. “In which case, I’d rather be the pool boy.” He paused for a moment and pressed his lips together. “I’m probably more suited for that, anyway.” He winced, then - really should not have said that out loud. They were fucking bantering, not sharing their massive insecurities.

 

Chuck tipped his head to the side, then reached out and punched Raleigh’s shoulder. He didn’t say anything else, because fuck, sensitive conversation, ugh.

He tugged his jacket tighter around himself, because it was pretty cold.

 

“You want to head back?” Raleigh asked. “S’kinda cold, yeah? Hopefully we can figure out some way to warm up…” He turned his head to the side and gave Chuck a lopsided grin. Was it too early to want to fuck?

Because Raleigh wanted to. He’d had to look at Chuck all week and not been able to touch.

 

Chuck laughed, shaking his head. “I have never used the word ‘cornball’ about someone before, but you, Raleigh Becket…” He stepped over and slotted himself into Raleigh’s arms, tipping his head up to press a kiss to the underside of his neck.

 

Raleigh sighed at the touch, even if he was being sort of insulted. He trailed a hand down Chuck’s side and then rested right at his hip. To illustrate his point, he used his fingers to pull up Chuck’s threadbare t-shirt just enough that he could rub his thumb along that perfect delineation of muscle. He traced his thumb down, down, headed straight for Chuck’s cock.

 

“Fuck,” Chuck breathed out, hips stuttering into Raleigh’s hand. He buried his face in Raleigh’s neck. “Max is right there, you sick perv,” he said, but didn’t do anything to stop him.

 

“Oh?” Raleigh asked, and he let his thumb get under the waistband of Chuck’s jeans and his boxer briefs. He pulled, slightly, then put the rest of his hand down and reached straight for Chuck’s cock, using his body to act as a shield in case anyone by.

 

“Oh my god,” Chuck said, eyes clenched shut, swallowing hard. His lips parted, letting out hot, quick breaths where his mouth was still pressed into Raleigh’s collarbone. “You’re - fucking bungers, fuck.” He rolled his hips into Raleigh’s hand. “Guess you’re not thinking about your law school applications anymore,” he huffed.

 

“I seem to have got distracted,” Raleigh murmured, and he grasped Chuck’s cock before releasing it. He pulled his hand out of Chuck’s pants and then pat his cock from the outside. It was starting to get hard, and Raleigh grinned. He used his other hand to guide Chuck’s face up and kissed him again.

Max barked, and Raleigh laughed, still kissing Chuck. “I think he’s jealous.”

 

Chuck restrained himself from making a whining sound at the sudden loss of contact.

“I think he’s protecting me from the crazy man molesting me in public,” Chuck said, and grasped Raleigh by the hair, shaking his head gently. “And when he shits on your pillow in warning, you’re gonna deserve it.”

 

“Crazy man?” Raleigh asked, and he shook his head slowly. “I was just trying to be persuasive, Chuck.”

He looked down at Max. “Would he really shit on my pillow?” Max didn’t look like he had a malicious bone in his body. Or, really, that smart of a bone either.

 

“Not on purpose,” Chuck said, shrugging. “Just, you know… Actually, probably I could train him to.” He looked down at Max, frowning in thought. Then he looked back at Raleigh and grinned. “Not tonight though, I got plans for you tonight.”

 

“Oh?” said Raleigh. He would not put it past Chuck in the slightest. “That’s interesting. I had some, uh, plans, as well…” He hoped he didn’t sound - no, he did sound wishy-washy about it. Be assertive, he thought.

 

Chuck raised his eyebrows. He started to walk again, because they hadn’t actually gotten anywhere and Max deserved a bit more time to stretch his legs. “Tell me about it,” he said, dipping his voice lower, more commanding - a trick he didn’t like admitting he’d picked up from Herc.

 

“Well,” Raleigh said, following along after the two of them until he caught up with Chuck, “I’d like to show you, uh, some of the same appreciation you showed me.” He reached back and grasped Chuck’s ass, gently, and then pulled it back. “To start, at least - suck you off.” He trailed his tongue along his lower lip - a trick he’d picked up from Yancy, after watching it drive just about anyone with a pulse wild. _Fuck, your brother has cocksucking lips,_ one of his girl friends had said.

 

It definitely worked on Chuck, though he managed to keep in the groan that swelled in his chest. “I could go for that,” he managed more or less evenly. “But I seem to recall showing you a bit more appreciation than that, yeah…?” He dropped his gaze to Raleigh’s cock.

He hadn’t expected this little time to psych himself up, but maybe it was better this way. No time to freak out.

 

Raleigh looked back at Chuck for a moment, trying to gauge his actual intention here. “You did,” he said. “The way you fucked me was...” he said. He hadn’t thought Chuck would want to do that, just yet, but he was more than...he wanted to do something for Chuck like he had done for him. “I’d love to do that for you, if you want, or…” He gave him a little smirk.

Good thing he had brought all three bottles of lube again.

 

“Yeah, I think…” Chuck reached down, tracing Raleigh’s cock through his pants with his fingertips. “I can take that giant dick of yours.” He licked his lips.

 

“That’s...fuck,” Raleigh said, shivering a little at Chuck’s touch - it was so fucking gentle, almost, just this slight pressure and he felt that first hint of tightness, tension. “I will show you how fucking good it feels, Chuck...hopefully how good you made me feel.”

He tried to glance down at his watch, just to see, because this was going to be an undertaking in preparation.

 

Chuck laughed. “I like that you’re already bored,” he teased, eyes twinkling. “S’a good sign, I reckon.”

He turned back to the hotel, looking down at Max, who seemed to be disappointed to be headed back so soon. He vowed to spend real time with Max sometime soon, which he’d been neglecting.

 

“Aw, sorry buddy,” said Raleigh. “Chuck and I are going to do adult people things - but we’ll take a nice long walk tomorrow?” He glanced at Chuck. _Please no sky diving. Please no sky diving._ “Maybe go for a swim? Do you swim?”

 

“Are you asking me or Max?” Chuck asked, glancing over at him. “He can, uh, kind of flop around, stay afloat, I think mostly because fat floats and all… And yeah, I swim. Freediving, remember?” He bit his lip, looking up at Raleigh with big, pleading eyes. “Can we? Please?”

 

“Yeah,” Raleigh said. Free diving he could sort of handle. Couldn’t be that much more terrifying than what he had already done - and going off of the high platforms at school. “And I know you swim, really?” he elbowed Chuck gently. “Seen you in the lake - but, yeah, we can take Max out for a hike to somewhere that’s got a spot.”

 

“I’ll teach you how,” Chuck said, eyes lit up in unholy glee. He seemed to have forgotten that he was about to get laid, more excited at the prospect of getting in some freediving. “How long can you hold your breath, d’you think?”

 

Raleigh frowned, slightly - Chuck definitely seemed a lot more excited about hurling himself off a cliff than...but, he told himself, he’d got laid last week. Who knew how long it had been since he’d had some horrifying adrenaline rush? _Fuck, he better never try coke,_ he thought, off-handed. “Well, uh...that’s a good question. If I’m not swimming? Two minutes?”

 

“Awright, yeah, two minutes, I can work with that. I mean, if I haven’t got the equipment, but I figure no one’s gonna rent me scuba shit for cheap here.” He looked disappointed. “Can’t go that far down, then, you need at least a few minutes to let the pressure equalize, so…”

Max tugged him along, alerting him that he had paused to plot his devious plans. He started walking again. “And we’re gonna need wetsuits, to do it proper. Damn, wish we were in Oz.”

 

“Wait, wait...what is free diving?” Raleigh asked, because this was - they had dramatically different ideas of what they were going to be getting up to. “I do not think you are thinking what I’m thinking.”

 

“That would be because you’re not thinking of freediving,” Chuck said, patting Raleigh’s arm. “Freediving, it’s underwater diving where you hold your breath, no scuba equipment or anything. You try to go as deep as possible, or as long, or whatever, without resurfacing. People used to die all the time from like, pressure in their brains, and blacking out, and oxygen bubbles in your bloodstream…” He scoffed at the idea. “But if you rest often and equalize so your oxygen levels even out, there’s no drama.” He smirked. “You already agreed.”

 

“Oh,” Raleigh said. He resisted the urge to laugh. “OK, yeah, fuck, I can do that - but, um…” He wasn’t sure how to phrase this. “Aside from the risk of death, what is the...why are we doing this?”

 

Chuck shook his head. “Mate, you don’t have an adventurous bone in your body,” he said, almost glum. “Why do we sky dive? Why do we jump out of moving trains? Why do we urban climb without belays? Because what is life without the constant reminder that you could die at any time.” He wrapped this up with a grand flourish of his arms, and beamed.

Then he frowned judgmentally at Raleigh. “Alternately, we could always crochet in the hotel room, if we were huge pussies.”

 

“I just don’t understand how going deep into the water is the same as sky diving, actually,” Raleigh said. “I guess I have a hard time imagining getting a rush from that, but…I haven’t done it, so.” He narrowed his eyes at Chuck. This was obviously something he had incredibly strong feelings about. “I guess I’m just asking where the rush comes from because it just sort of seems like swim practice to me?”

 

“I promise you, you get a lot of head rushes when all your oxygen is used up,” Chuck said. “Adrenaline rushes don’t all come from jumping off high places.” They had come to the hotel by then, and Chuck smiled at Raleigh as he led them inside. “We can go sky diving if you’d rather. I didn’t realize you had a preference.”

 

“Well,” Raleigh said, since he’d already been called a pussy once this evening, “free diving is probably a bit easier to arrange for tomorrow - plus we’ve got Max with us, so. Maybe next time?” He hoped he sounded measured.

He was also really tempted to suggest they just find a sex shop and get some whip-its, but thought better of it. Would be a lot less hassle, though.

 

“Whatever you want, love,” Chuck said, shrugging. He paused outside the suite everyone else was sharing, kneeling down to unclasp Max’s leash. “Be a good boy and pee on Yancy,” he said, and then opened the door and herded Max inside.

“Have fun, ya bastards,” he said. “If you mess with him, I’ma feed you to a bear.” He wasn’t worried, though. They were all too scared of his dad to do anything to Max just to fuck with Chuck, to say nothing of the way he would get a slow and creative revenge if they did.

Then he turned back to Raleigh, grin turning sly and sultry. “So, I hear you’ve got plans?”

 

“I do,” Raleigh said, trying hard not to laugh at the betrayed look Max was shooting back at them as he got hustled into the hotel room. He probably would pee on Yancy, just because he smelled close enough to Raleigh for Max to figure it would convey his message.

“I’m sorry, were you interested in those? Or did you want to tell me more about urban climbing?”

 

Chuck’s smile lit up again, eyes going bright. There was absolutely nothing sultry about his expression anymore - he looked like a child on Christmas morning being presented with a mountain bike. “It’s so cool, mate! Like vertical parkour, and then you’re on top of a fucking building looking out over the city and it’s like - oh man, fucking vertigo, I once almost…”

Raleigh probably didn’t want to hear that, he realized. He hadn’t told his father about that little episode for a reason, after all.

This was not helping with the mood, he also realized.

 

Chuck looked a bit like a puppy himself when he talked about it, which was pretty damn adorable. And made Raleigh kind of oddly want to tear him apart - which, OK, maybe being a puppy wasn’t such a bad thing after all. So he grabbed Chuck on either side of the waist and did the lip thing again, slowly licking along the bottom and then flicking his tongue at the top. “Mmm,” Raleigh said, and he pulled Chuck a little closer to him.

Then he kissed Chuck, this time big and hard to start, pressing deep into Chuck’s mouth with his tongue as soon as he got the opportunity.

 

“Mmph!” Chuck’s eyes shot open, and then sank closed. He leaned back against the wall, wrapping one arm around Raleigh’s neck and gripping his hair with his other hand, fingers weaving in deep for grip.

He was content to stand there, making out with Raleigh, for the indefinite future, but the door to the suite soon opened and Tendo stepped outside with the ice bucket.

“Christ, you two,” he said. “You _have_ a room, you know.”

Chuck hummed against Raleigh’s lips and gave no indication of moving from where he was, only shifting to flip his middle finger at Tendo. He bit Raleigh’s lower lip gently as he drew away. “So do you, Choi, so - don’t let the door hit you on your way out.”

 

“He’s just jealous,” Raleigh murmured, and grinned at Tendo as he shook his head and walked back into the suite. Raleigh reached for the door to their room as soon as Tendo was tucked back inside and then guided Chuck inside as he kissed him, firm.

“Chuck,” he said, slowly - the way that he knew Chuck liked it. He reached his hand forward again and palming Chuck’s cock gently. “Well, look at that…”

 

“It’s called a dick,” Chuck said, smirking and pushing forward a little into Raleigh’s hand. “Just sayin’, you seem kind of surprised, so…” He tangled his fingers in Raleigh’s collar, keeping his hands away from the action to signify that this was Raleigh’s show and he was only along for the ride. So to speak.

 

Raleigh was pleased to see Chuck was giving him a modicrum of control and so he tightened his grip on Chuck’s hips and gave him a slow, deep kiss before he steered him over towards the king bed in their room.

He tugged at Chuck’s shirt as they moved their way across the room, pleased as Chuck yielded so that he could move the shirt up and over his arms easily. “Christ, you’re gorgeous,” he said, moving his hands up and over Chuck’s abs and then running one through the thatch of hair across Chuck’s chest.

 

“You still on that, then?” Chuck said, cursing his breathlessness - it wasn’t fair, how easily Raleigh could get him to react. Embarrassing, really. After all that experience, too.

He fell back onto the bed, scooting back until he was sprawled out on it, and propped himself up on his elbows to look at Raleigh expectantly. _Next_? he seemed to be saying.

 

Raleigh crawled in over him and turned his head - Chuck seemed impatient, but then, given that this was his potentially going to be his first time, he gave him so leeway. Raleigh pulled his own t-shirt off and then straddled over Chuck and aligned their groins, letting Chuck feel him as he slowly rotated his hips to get a little more friction.

He kissed Chuck and then trailed his mouth down his neck and down his collarbone. Remembering how Chuck had responded before, he slowly worked his tongue over one nipple and then sucked at it before giving it a little scrape with his teeth. He twisted the other as he worked the nipple over again in his mouth.

 

“Fuuuck,” Chuck said, pressing his head back into the pillow. He bit his lip as he realized for the first time how alien this experience was going to be for him, how vulnerable he was going to be, spread out around Raleigh’s monster cock, split fucking open.

But he wasn’t worried about it, really. Mostly because of the way Raleigh was lavishing attention over his nipples, making sure he was driven crazy with sheer want before he moved along. There was no way Raleigh wasn’t going to make this good for him, and he knew it.

So he just gripped Raleigh’s shoulders and held on, rubbing his cock up against Raleigh for friction. Yeah, this wasn’t going to be one of his more impressive times, in terms of stamina. Oh well.

 

“Eager?” Raleigh asked, and, done with Chuck’s nipples, he kissed slowly down his stomach. He slid his hand under the waistband of his jeans again and then pulled apart the clasp and zipper at the fly. Chuck was hard already, cock tight against the fabric of his boxer briefs. Raleigh slid the jeans off of Chuck and then kneeled over him before taking his own pants off.

He couldn’t help but smile at Chuck spread out like that in front of him, clearly eager and ready for him. “You look good,” he said and he was surprised to hear the amount of gravel he got in his voice with that.

Then he leaned down and licked a long strip up from the very base of Chuck’s cock before he slid the foreskin back and traced his tongue along the smooth, sensitive underside.

 

“I - yeah, fuck,” Chuck said, licking his lower lip before sinking his teeth into it. He mindlessly scrabbled at the sheets, nails digging furrows.

He struggled to keep his hips flat against the bed, not wanting to choke Raleigh. “I mean, can you blame me?” he said with a breathy laugh. “It’s like… Like if… S’like I’m lookin’ to steal the Hope Diamond on my first con job. Kind of a big moment for me, love.” He grinned and carded his fingers through Raleigh’s hair,

 

Raleigh hummed around Chuck’s cock and slowly drew his mouth up from where it had met his fist. “You’re right,” he said, and he took his other hand and cupped Chuck’s balls. He liked the groan that it pulled out of him, and then he rolled them before he moved down and used his hand to slide Chuck’s cock up and out of the way. Just for now.

He licked, first, inhaled to get the sweet, salty smell of Chuck in his nose before he kissed at the skin. Then he took one in his mouth and sucked, pulled back, and took the other and sucked.

Raleigh looked up to meet Chuck’s eyes. “You can fuck my mouth, Chuck,” he said, before he took his dick back in his mouth.

 

“I, uh, I like that you agreed, like _yeah, my cock is the Hope Diamond of penises_ ,” Chuck said, laughing, though it quickly turned into a moan when Raleigh sucked on his balls, Jesus Christ. Girls were always weird about that, but fuck, so good.

He didn’t seem to be intentionally following Raleigh’s directions, but his hips arched off the bed, cock sliding between those delectable lips. Fuck, Raleigh’s lips looked good stretched around him, all pink and pretty. Chuck was gonna have to work hard not to come too soon, here.

 

Raleigh grinned, because he could tell that Chuck was already trying to prolong this. _Challenge accepted,_ he thought, and did the thing that had driven him nuts last time, working his tongue over his tip, sliding down, and then pulling the foreskin up and over with his mouth. The moan he got in response suggested he was on the right path.

He worked Chuck for a few moments like this before he slid a thumb back and began to gently circle, gradually increasing his pressure and timing it along with his mouth. When Chuck moaned again he cast his eyes back up so he could hold Chuck’s gaze.

 

“Yeah, c’mon,” Chuck said, desperation in the pitch of his voice - both because he wanted it, and because he was already wound so tight and he wanted Raleigh inside him before he came.

Still, even with his head all foggy and thick with arousal, his thoughts were clear enough that he remembered a certain thing. Like, say, that he was about to get something bigger than fingers up his ass, and that he hadn’t even had those in a very long while. He gripped Raleigh’s hair and tugged. “But, uh… lube?”

 

Raleigh furrowed his brow slightly and kept his mouth around Chuck’s cock. This was going to a hell of a lot easier if Chuck was relaxed, and in Raleigh’s experience, that meant one orgasm before he even got around to opening him up.

“Chuck,” Raleigh said, keeping his hand on the base of Chuck’s cock. “I said I wanted to suck you off.”

 

Chuck laughed, shaking his head. “Good plan, just one problem. I have seriously the worst refraction time - I pass the fuck out as soon as I come. I’ve got great stamina, but, uh, just the once.” He grinned, because he had moved past embarrassment on this particular fact a long time ago, and had kind of an amused acceptance about it. “Sorry? I mean, if you’re really into fucking people while they’re unconscious...”

 

“Ah,” Raleigh said. That would explain the last time the fucked, then, and Chuck’s valiant efforts to try and watch Jurassic Park with him. “Well, then, that is…” He shrugged. Moving on, then. “Roll over, yeah? And get comfortable.”

He leaned off the bed to where he had stashed his pack and considered his options - and how many times did you get this opportunity? He went for the expensive stuff.

 

Chuck turned, pushing up onto his elbows and knees. He looked over his shoulder at Raleigh. “When’s the last time you - or, uh, not that. Um, just, say something?” he amended, because Raleigh didn’t seem to love talking about past experiences. He just needed Raleigh to talk, keep him distracted with the honeyed rumble of his voice so he forgot to tense up.

 

“Fuck, look at you,” Raleigh said, pulling back up to the sight of Chuck with his ass in the air for him. “God, your ass,” he said. He ran his hand down from his lower back and cupped the globe of the one side of it before he spread himself over Chuck, getting close to his ear. “I want you to talk to me too, yeah, Chuck? Anything, OK?” He was sort of prepared for the fact that this might not go off - and he was perfectly happy for Chuck to fuck him again.

He kissed down Chuck’s spine, moving quickly down each knob, and then he stopped at the top of his ass. “Remember when you asked me about this?” he asked, then used his hands to move Chuck’s ass apart. Raleigh grinned and then licked straight down in one line, right to Chuck’s balls of the other side.

 

“Oh, _shit_ ,” Chuck said, hips jerking forward, and then back when the movement forward took him away from Raleigh’s mouth. His head dropped down between his arms. “Fuck, you act like it’s ridiculous that I’ve never been fucked when I top so often.”

His breathing turned raspy and he gave a cry as Raleigh’s tongue flitted over his hole. “Well, it’s bloody criminal that you’ve rimmed other people before but you’ve never had someone’s mouth on that fantastic arse of yours.”

 

Raleigh hummed his agreement and then slid his tongue over Chuck’s hole a little slower. He put his thumbs on either side to give him some more access, sliding up and down a few more times before he moved in a circle one way, then the other.

Chuck was making beautiful noises under his mouth and Raleigh was, well, eating it up. He began to move his thumbs slowly, too, and then pulled Chuck just that little bit further he needed to plunge his tongue right inside him.

 

Chuck groaned from deep in his chest, biting into the flesh of his palm when he remembered there was a room full of his coworkers right next door who would be thrilled to mock him relentlessly for being such a slut for Raleigh. Not to mention Max, who would probably think he was being attacked and start making a ruckus and that would be _terrible_ because it would mean Raleigh would stop, which Chuck wouldn’t let happen under any circumstances.

His cock spurted out precome at Raleigh’s next jab of the tongue, and he wrapped his fingers tight around the base, striving for control. “You’re - that’s - ohh, Christ,” he said, head resting on his forearm. He pushed back against Raleigh’s tongue, demanding more. “Rals, Raleigh, need you -“

 

Raleigh caught the move that Chuck made against his cock and the way he was arching into him. He got as deep as he could and worked his tongue against the deep heat of Chuck, then slid out and circled again.

He lubed his one hand while using his other to hold Chuck steady. “Need what, Chuck?” he asked, then decided to give him one more good thrust with his tongue.

 

“Your fingers, your cock,” Chuck gasped out. “Come on, you bloody motherfucker, don’t tease.” His hips rotated in tiny circles, and he pressed the head of his cock into his belly to ease some of the overwhelming need for contact.

 

“Good,” Raleigh said, and he slid his finger down Chuck’s crease to his hole, pink and wet. Raleigh pressed in just into the ring of muscle, waiting just a moment for Chuck’s response. His spine went a little tight, but he seemed far enough gone that he was going to be ready for Raleigh. “Like this, Chuck?” He pressed all the way in and couldn’t help but groan himself at the warmth of Chuck around his finger and fuck, he needed to get his cock in him.

He reached and stroked himself with his other hand as he slowly fucked Chuck with the one finger.

 

“‘m not made of glass, Becket,” Chuck said, though the whine caught in the back of his throat belied his nonchalance. “C’mon, fuck me like you mean it. I told you, I can take that big dick of yours, I’m not gonna break from a few fingers.” He pushed back into Raleigh, trying to communicate how eager he was for more, how much he wanted to know what it felt like to be filled up with _him_.

 

“Fuck,” Raleigh said, because he really wanted to get inside Chuck, fuck him slow and deep. But he knew he needed more. He slid a second finger in along with the first, thrust it right into Chuck’s center to see if he was...well, the only phrase Raleigh could think of was talking out of his ass.

Chuck groaned, but he was pretty pliant. Raleigh circled and moved in and out at the same time, fucking Chuck with them, a little rougher. “God, you feel so good, Chuck…”

 

Chuck’s fingers spasmed, and he moved them down to his balls, holding them tight in the same way he had to Raleigh to restrict him from coming. “Hurry up,” he said, “fuck, Becket, more. Unless you want this to be over before it starts, but I’m gonna be pretty disappointed if I don’t get your dick in me before then.” He spread his knees a bit wider, grinding into empty air, needing more.

 

“OK,” Raleigh said - he wasn’t sure, now, why he had imagined this going slowly. He drizzled some more lube right into Chuck’s crease and then thrust three fingers inside him and opened them roughly. He ran a hand down Chuck’s spine as he did it, though, not entirely able to just start tearing him apart. He pulled his fingers in and out, fast, and groaned at the noises Chuck made and the distinct sound as he moved in and out of him.

Satisfied, he slid them out completely. “Roll over,” he said.

 

Chuck followed his order, rolling onto his back. He reached up and clenched his fingers in the pillow, watching Raleigh’s bobbing cock with some trepidation. Chuck may have had an above average pain tolerance (which explained how he’d been handling Raleigh’s fingers so well) but even he had to be worried about that fucking monstrosity crammed in his ass.

But Chuck had never been one to back down from a challenge. Especially not after all that begging - he couldn’t pussy out now. So he looked up at Raleigh, challenge and certainty in his eyes, and said, “Do it.” His tone brokered no room for argument.

 

Raleigh smiled at Chuck, even though he looked - well, less than completely thrilled, but nothing was going to stop him now. He guided his legs a bit further apart and took his cock in his hand and fisted it, slowly, before lining it with Chuck’s hole.

He said a silent prayer, would have preferred a good deal more time spent on Chuck’s ass, and then he pressed inward, right through the ring of muscle, and he settled, giving Chuck a moment and wanting to gauge his reaction.

 

Every muscle in Chuck’s body tensed up, and he threw his head back, teeth bared in a pained grimace. Fuck, high pain tolerance was one thing, but Raleigh was - god, he could not be human, not when ‘hung like a horse’ was shockingly apt as a descriptor.

He realized Raleigh would take this as a sign to stop, and he lashed out and wrapped his legs around Raleigh’s waist, holding him in place. Just the head was inside, but it burned like hell, and he could scarcely draw breath - it felt like Raleigh’s cock was filling the space normally taken up by his lungs.

He shifted, and then gave a whimper at the uncomfortable stretch. But he wasn’t about to let Raleigh pull out, not after all that time.

 

“Hey,” Raleigh said, and he kept his voice soft, because...well, not the first time. He ran his hands down the outsides of Chuck’s thighs and resisted the urge to frown at Chuck’s shrinking cock. “Chuck...bear down, yeah? Opposite of what you think you want to do.”

He reached his hand forward and slowly stroked his cock, not moving any deeper into Chuck until he was sure he didn’t look like he was throw up. “Fuck you feel good, Chuck,” he added. He almost leaned forward to kiss him but then remembered what the natural result of that would be.

 

Chuck tried to smile, but it came out more pained than reassuring. He cracked his eyes open and looked down, touched at the look of concern on Raleigh’s face.

It occurred to him, suddenly, that he was hardly the first person to be in this position. There had been other men in this place, other blokes who’d been able to take Raleigh without being enormous wusses about it. And Raleigh was going to think he was just an inexperienced little boy who couldn’t handle…

Talk about motivation.

Chuck took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then inhaled again on a ten-count, before releasing it - and this time, the tension sluiced out of his body with it, each muscle relaxing by the sheer force of his will. He sank down so his body enveloped more of Raleigh’s cock, and Raleigh was right, this was better.

It still wasn’t comfortable, quite, but it was about a million times better than it had been.

“Well?” Chuck said. “What’s the hold-up, mate?”

 

Raleigh shook his head, slightly, and he had to grin. Chuck Hansen, everyone, he thought, and he shifted himself forward in hopes that this was going to get him the shallowest angle possible. Then he pressed in again, watched Chuck’s face, and drew himself back - nearly all the way out, playing with all of the over stimulated nerves right at Chuck’s entrance.

He moved gradually deeper with each slow, steady stroke, holding Chuck’s eyes as he worked his way in. “You look amazing, you have no idea,” he said, looking down, and it was more than true - Chuck was fucking stretched around him, the muscles of his ass tight and firm in the position he was in, the curve of his thigh muscles exaggerated as he wrapped his legs around Raleigh. “Fuck, you feel - you’re so…” He swallowed and moved a hand forward to get back to Chuck’s nipple, stroking it gently.

 

“I got some idea,” Chuck said, biting his lower lip and smiling. Raleigh was one to talk - he could have been a porn star, the way his ridiculous abs flexed with every thrust, and his limp blond hair dangled in his blue, blue eyes, to say nothing of his absolutely insane cock, so -

Yeah, actual porn star Raleigh Becket.

Chuck arched up when Raleigh started toying with his nipples, whole body rippling with the motion. “You know that thing is like, obscene, right?” His hands roamed higher until they were wrapped around the headboard, which he used for purchase to rock back against Raleigh in a rhythm. “It’s like, Christ, you should come with a warning label. Raleigh Becket, pretty as fuck, bona fide angel ‘cept he fucks like a goddamn demon.”

Christ, what was he even _saying_?

 

“That would be a, uh, rather long warning label,” Raleigh said, slowly, but he smiled. This was progress, he figured, except he was - oh, about halfway inside Chuck. Not that Chuck really needed to know that.

He twisted one of Chuck’s nipples and grinned at how his abdominal muscles clenched in response. Chuck groaned in response, so Raleigh twisted a little harder. “Besides, I like to, uh, have an...to have somethings a surprise?”

Then Chuck did something, pressed back against him from the leverage he was trying to get from the headboard, and Raleigh groaned and slid further into him than he would have liked. “Fuuuuck,” he said, because Chuck was so beautiful and so fucking tight around him. _Focus, focus, focus,_ he told himself.

 

Chuck imagined this is what it would feel like to be fucked with a cricket bat, but, uh, in a good way. He arched his back further, like a bow being drawn, which had the added effect of shifting so Raleigh sank in even further.

This feeling, Chuck thought, was beyond description. There just weren’t words for being this goddamn full, nothing in the English language that could encompass the simultaneous feeling of discomfort and being exactly where he wanted to be. It really was like Raleigh was splitting him open, and that was - amazing.

He couldn’t express that, could only give a cry when Raleigh pushed into him just right, wordless but hopefully demonstrating how much he was enjoying this whole experience, every nerve ending buzzing with it.

“Rals, Raleigh,” he managed to choke out. “Christ, you’re -” He cut himself off with another wordless moan.

 

 _There we go,_ Raleigh thought, and, head swimming, still managed to think about how terrible it would be if Chuck Hansen ever decided he wanted to accomplish out and out evil. “Chuck, Christ, I can’t...you’re so amazing, fuck, you’re…” He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and then slid the rest of the way into Chuck with a deep, throaty moan.

He resisted the urge to bend over Chuck, though, instead slowly sliding back and out, leaving just his cockhead in. “Fuck, you are gorgeous,” he murmured, watching the flush spread across Chuck’s chest. He had to really concentrate to make the next stroke in slow and measured.

 

“Yeah, you’ve said,” Chuck said, but his characteristic snark was absent from his voice, leaving only heated fondness in its place. He took one of his hands off the headboard and trailed it down Raleigh’s chest, smoothing his fingertips over Raleigh’s nipples before detouring around his abs. Then it dropped to his own cock, where he curled his fingers in a loose fist to fuck up into it. He tossed his head and moaned, his internal muscles unclenching, easing the slide for Raleigh and probably improving the sensations for both of them - although it would be hard to get better than this for Chuck, the way Raleigh’s cock played off every sensitive spot he had.

He gave a throaty, low groan. “C’mon, give it to me, love. I want it, want you, more.”

 

“Am I..?” Raleigh asked, and suddenly Chuck was looser when he touched his own cock again. Raleigh shifted, leaned forward a bit and pressed Chuck’s legs closer to his body. He kissed at the soft skin on the inside of his knee, sucked a bit and pressed a mark there. “Chuck, am I...or..?”

He wasn’t going to last too much longer, not with the sounds Chuck was making, the way he was fucking enveloping him in his deep, hot confines. He wanted to make sure that he was good, that he pulled Chuck as far apart as Chuck had pulled - was pulling - him. “Chuck?”

 

The slight shift in position made a world of difference, and Chuck fucking lit up with it. And wow, he’d known what a prostate was before - had been fingered, if not fucked - but this was different in all the ways that counted.

Oh, shit, Raleigh was asking something, and usually Chuck would be able to figure it out, probably, but the way his head was spinning, he was surprised he could understand basic words. “Mate, I have no idea what you’re asking, but yeah, I reckon.” He huffed a laugh, practically undulating up into his hand, which was tight around his cock, and then Raleigh’s own dick was still tearing him apart, and he couldn’t believe it had taken him so long to get this. Fuck, if only he had known.

He could feel himself drawing closer to orgasm, and hoped that Raleigh was getting close too.

 

“Good, that’s good, fuck,” Raleigh said, and he started to establish a bit of a faster pace, actually plunging in and out of Chuck and feeling the distinct warmth begin to gather in his cock and lower stomach. He leaned in a little more and opened his mouth as he met Chuck’s eyes. “Christ, Chuck, you’re so fucking good, and...I’m...fuck, fuck…please…I’m so close, Chuck…”

He canted his hips and pistoned just slightly, still but just barely cognizant of how fucking tight Chuck was around him. He issued a low, deep moan as he felt himself go beyond the point of return, his climax building and gathering with each second.

 

Chuck sensed that this was a race for the finish line, and he stripped his cock at the same pace as Raleigh was fucking him, slicking his hand with the precome that leaked liberally from the slit of his cock. “Oh, fuck yeah,” he said. “Next time you can fuck me hard, slam me into the bed, keep the whole fucking hotel awake with the headboard knocking.”

He gave a deep and rumbling moan. Afterwards, he couldn’t say which of them came first, just that he was spilling over into his fist just as there was a rush of heat inside him. “Raleigh,” he gasped out, “so fucking good, shit!”

 

Raleigh sort of whited out, blacked out, lost all of his senses except for his orgasm and Chuck clenching around him, hot, tight, perfect. Then he was aware of Chuck’s moan, deep, hitting right to his thigh. He squeezed his eyes and then opened them. Chuck had an almost stupid grin on his face that made Raleigh grin right back at him.

“Fuck,” he said. “That was…I’ve never…” His tongue felt a little heavy in his mouth and so instead he just sort of let himself collapse down onto Chuck, not having to worry about impaling him with his dick now.

 

Chuck stroked his hair, though it was more of a clumsy drag of his hand over Raleigh’s head than anything delicate. He pressed a kiss to the top of Raleigh’s head. “So,” he said eventually. “Guess we’re just not gonna worry about condoms, then.” He might have been more anxious about this if he wasn’t fucked-out beyond belief. He didn’t think he could feel anxiety if the building was burning down.

 

Raleigh tried to process this - “Uh,” he said, finally. “I thought…” he waved his hand stupidly. “I mean, given that...um.” He looked down at Chuck, not sure if he understood. Hadn’t they already reached a point of no return with that one?

 

“The American Sex-Ed system must be utter shit,” Chuck said, sounding amused. “Transferring STDs isn’t guaranteed, or anything. Doesn’t always happen even if you have sex without a condom. That’s why it’s a good idea to use a condom even if you fucked it up the first time, but…”

He nudged at Raleigh’s forehead with his nose and lips until Raleigh was at the right angle to kiss him. “I don’t mind. We’re both clean, and I like feeling you.” _And I trust you_ , he didn’t say, but - Raleigh must have known that, by now.

 

“Me too,” Raleigh said, and he allowed himself to exhale for the first time since Chuck had started and fuck, this was not good, if he was able to get tense from thinking he had upset Chuck just like that - it meant he liked him, and… _Stop it, stop, stop, don’t get ahead of yourself,_ he thought.

He kissed Chuck back and then nuzzled into his neck, not wanting to pull out. “Uh, I don’t want to move,” he murmured. Everything about Chuck right now was good - his smell, how soft his skin was, the fucking dimples on either side of his smile.

 

Chuck hummed his agreement. “Just don’t fall asleep like this,” he said, his own eyelids drooping. “I wanna be able to walk in the morning, cheers.” Fine motor skills having returned, he started finger-combing Raleigh’s hair again, remembering how much he had liked it the last time they’d fucked.

 

“Oh, that’s...oh that’s really nice,” Raleigh sighed, shifted, and then slipped out of Chuck. “Hold that thought,” he said, and rolled off of the bed and made for the bathroom. He needed just a short moment to collect himself, really, regain composure while he waited for the tap to run warm. Then he put one of the washcloths under it and grabbed a dry one as well.

He poked his head out, hoping to catch a glimpse of Chuck without him knowing - there was something odd in his expression, sweet, almost, kind of similar to when he had been telling Raleigh about some incredibly stupid activity he had engaged in. Raleigh ducked his head back in and then said, “OK,” before he walked out and got back on the bed.

 

Chuck practically purred as Raleigh cleaned him off, lazily shifting to allow the washcloth access to his thighs and ass and belly. Once clean enough, he curled up in a loose ball on his side and flailed around for the comforter to pull it over himself. If Raleigh tried to put on a movie, Chuck was going to fall asleep before the opening credits.

“Thanks, love,” he said, already half-asleep. Then he blinked his eyes open, frowning a little. “I should go get Max, huh.” He didn’t sound thrilled to be expected to move.

 

“I’ll get him,” Raleigh said. Chuck was not fucking kidding. It was really cute. Sex was his kryptonite, sort of. “Chuck?” He leaned back down and brushed his lips over Chuck’s, making sure he had his full attention. He knew Chuck would appreciate what he was about to say.

 

Chuck opened his eyes fully. “Yeah?” he said, propping himself up on his elbow. He sensed that Raleigh wouldn’t want him to be asleep for whatever he was trying to communicate.

 

Raleigh grinned at him. “No one’s ever taken me like that before,” he said, “in one try like that, I mean.” He kissed his forehead.

 

Chuck grinned wide in return. “Damn straight,” he said, not even bothering to hide his pride at learning that. So everyone else was the pussy, and Chuck was the rock star.

Somehow, he wasn’t surprised.

“Next time,” he repeated his words from earlier, “you’re gonna fuck me so hard I can hardly stand it. Make me scream for you. And that’s a challenge, Becket.” He stretched up and nipped at Raleigh’s lower lip with his teeth.

 

Raleigh groaned into Chuck’s little nip and the slide of his teeth against his lip.

“Next time?” Raleigh said, intrigued. He had figured - well. So he must have done all right. He leaned over and tugged his jeans on, not even bothering with his underwear.

 

Oh, right. “I mean, not if…” Chuck said. “We don’t have to, I can always…” He scratched his cheek. “I like fucking you too,” he finally said.

 

“No, I just thought…” Raleigh shrugged, “You liked it, then? You want to do it again?”

 

Chuck shot him a look that clearly meant Raleigh was very stupid. “Rals,” he said. “Let’s just say, I don’t normally sound that idiotic during sex. You fucking - fried my brain, Jesus.”

 

“Oh,” Raleigh said, and he blushed. “That’s...good. I’m glad.” He nodded his head and decided he was going to quit while he was ahead. “I’m gonna go get Max, yeah? Um...should I let him out for awhile, so he can do his thing?”

 

“Nah, he went when we walked him, and it wasn’t that long ago,” Chuck said, yawning. “‘sides, he’ll let me know when he needs to go.” He made a shooing motion with his hand. “Now fetch.”

 

Raleigh shook his head and walked out the room and over to the next door. There was music and loud conversation coming from inside, so clearly no one over there was anywhere near ready for bed. He knocked, first, but when he didn’t get an answer he just opened the door.

“Uh,” he said, as everyone turned and looked at him. He gave a stupid wave. “Max?”

Max was at the center of a cuddle pile, mostly the four girls in their group but with Yancy sort of peripherally involved as he talked to Tendo, who appeared not to have been invited. He regarded Raleigh with suspicion.

 

“He is not leaving,” Mako told him.

“Not until he realizes you’re taking him to Chuck,” Tendo said.

Max appeared to perk up at the name ‘Chuck,’ looking around as if expecting to find him hiding in the corner somewhere.

“How is Little Hansen?” Sasha asked suddenly. “Not getting Max himself, maybe… tied up with something, hm?” She smirked.

 

“Uh, no, he’s good,” Raleigh said. “Just thought I would come and get Max, since…” He scratched at the back of his head, not able to come up with a good explanation as to why he would be sent to get the dog other than _I just fucked Chuck’s brains out and he passed out._

He leaned down, hoping to make an ally of Max. They did, after all, have a common interest. “C’mon, Max,” he said. “You want to find Chuck?”

 

Max stood up, but still seemed to be regarding him with suspicion, as if worried Raleigh were lying to him about seeing Chuck.

“You gotta admit, it’s a little weird,” Tendo said to the group at large. “Like, literally five minutes ago, Rals was getting fucked by Baby Hansen in the next room, and now he just moseys on over, casual as anything, like he’s not still covered in - all kinds of unmentionables, I’m sure.”

Mako wrinkled her nose. “Some of us do not think about it in that much detail.”

“He’s still all sweaty and sex-hair-y,” Tendo protested. “Kinda hard to miss. I’d bet 200 bucks the kid isn’t wearing underwear right now, too.”

Nobody took that bet.

 

“Um,” Raleigh said. Although, he realized, since everyone seemed to have such a low - and true - opinion of him, might as well use it to his advantage. He held a hand out to Max. “C’mon, Max,” he said. “Chuck really wants to see you.”

Yancy gave him a very disappointed look. Like Yancy hadn’t done far, far more unmentionable things in the past.

 

That seemed to do the trick, as Max bounded over to him and began enthusiastically licking his hand.

“I don’t even want to know what you’re letting that poor dog lick off you,” Tendo said. “Just let me think it’s sweat.”

Mako stayed silent, watching Raleigh. She hadn’t thought he and Chuck would get so serious, that Chuck would - would trust Raleigh with Max, and invite him for walks, and fuck him in the next room of a hotel, and try to get along with his family, and - so many more things, really. She wondered if it should assuage her concern, because it didn’t. It only made her more worried about them in the long run.

 

“Yay,” Raleigh said, and he rubbed Max’s ears with his other hand. “And, really, Tendo?” He was about to assert that he had washed his hands before he decided to do the next best thing and lunge for Tendo, wiggling them in his face.

Deciding this was a game, Max helped, clamoring onto Tendo and furiously licking his face.

 

Tendo gave a wet, muffled shout and fell over backwards, flailing all the while.

A moment later, the door opened, and a scowling Chuck entered, dressed to match Raleigh. “Fuck, Max, you don’t wanna touch the seppo, who knows where he’s been,” he said, scooping Max up when the bulldog trotted over to nuzzle at his legs.

He looked around at the assorted glances he was receiving from everyone and decided - hell, why not. “Raleigh, come,” he said, and returned to their room without waiting for anyone’s response.

 

“Don’t you dare,” Yancy said.

Raleigh pressed his lips together and then smiled at Mako. “Eh,” he said, and then trotted after Chuck and Max. He might have slammed the door a little harder than necessary.

“Oh, my god,” Yancy said. “You could see his little tail wiggling, couldn’t you?”

 

“I suppose, of what I have heard of Chuck, I cannot blame Raleigh for being willing to jump through a few hoops,” Mako said. She didn’t know if this would help or hurt Raleigh’s case.

 

Yancy looked over at her and narrowed his eyes, not entirely sure whose side she was on. He decided he was too drunk to properly answer that question and instead just shook his head. “Yeah, well, we heard too, unfortunately,” he said.

 

Mako shrugged noncommittally.

Sasha looked in the direction of Chuck and Raleigh’s room with bright, curious eyes. “A little hard to believe, Little Hansen, knowing… But I see, he has to be best, wants to beat other angry gays, be their king.”

“Bisexual,” Mako corrected.

“Oh?” Sasha said, a smirk curling her lips. “More and more interesting.”

 

Yancy glanced over at Mako and considered this piece of information - there were two parts of brain competing with him. One told him it didn’t matter, so long as Chuck didn’t fuck over his brother, but the other couldn’t help but be a bit more suspicious of him because, after all, bisexuals were sluts and secretly straight. He waited a few minutes as the group dynamic shifted a bit before he slid in next to Mako. “Mori,” he said, and raised both his eyebrows.

 

“Becket,” she said, raising her eyebrows in return. Oh no, this was going to be some terribly awkward conversation about Chuck and Raleigh having sex, wasn’t it?

 

Yancy grinned at her as though he could read her mind, “Yes, yes it is,” he said. “No, seriously for a second, though - am I going to have to be picking Raleigh pieces and gluing him back together come September?”

 

Mako kind of scowled at him, for the assumption that… But, well, it was a fair point. Hm.

“I believe Chuck will be entirely honest about his expectations and intentions with Raleigh,” Mako said, choosing her words carefully. “Whether or not Raleigh truly, um… You know, he may think he can handle it, but… He’s Raleigh.” She shrugged one shoulder.

 

“I just think he, uh, really likes that angry little koala,” Yancy said. He was still trying to process it - opposites attract? “Even if Chuck handles it well, if it doesn’t work out...I just think Raleigh will be upset, even if…”

 

“Well, that’s kind of…” Mako shrugged again, this time with an expression of helpless acceptance - or at least, that’s what she was going for. “That’s all relationships, is it not?”

She shook her head. “They both know Chuck does not plan to go to MIT with any, um, considerations on his mind. So yes, Raleigh will be hurt, I’m sure, but… What would you suggest? That they break up now to avoid the heartache later?” Then Raleigh would just pine for a summer, and Chuck would be the most insufferable, asinine shithead, and everything would be awful for everyone. At least this way they could have a fun summer before the inevitable heartbreak hit.

 

“If you’re doing relationships right,” Yancy said, and grinned, though it was rueful. He looked at Mako - he wondered how much, if anything, Raleigh had told her about him. “I just wondered if you had the same perception, that’s all, you know? Puppy love?” He tried to be lighthearted about it but he was worried. Although this was part of growing up, he supposed.

 

Mako sighed, looking down. “I think it is for now, but…” At this rate, Raleigh would be proposing marriage before the summer was over. Chuck was harder to read, though. He definitely liked Raleigh a lot, but enough to set aside the careful plans he’d laid out for himself? All those articles he’d read about starting uni in a long-distance relationship, what a bad idea it was… It would take a miracle.

 

“OK, then,” Yancy said. He shook his head. “Oh, Raleigh - I sort of encouraged him, you know, thought it would be good? He’s such a disaster...like, fun summer fling.” Yancy winced. “Oops.”

 

“They are sweet together,” Mako said, as if it were a logical response to Yancy’s statement. Then she narrowed her eyes at him. “You could be nicer to Chuck, you know. He’s trying. Aren’t you supposed to be the more responsible one?”

 

“I am!” Yancy said. “I got him Tim Tams, and...didn’t rise to his father’s baiting us...I ate his halibut jerky! Tendo ate it too, that stuff was - right, Tendo?”

He glanced over at Tendo, who was trying to integrate himself with the other girls. Man, he had the worst luck.

 

Mako rolled her eyes. “You are all children,” she said, and patted him on the head as she stood up to get another drink.


	6. Chapter 6

Raleigh woke up and - something was wrong. He was very warm, like he was bundled up, except he was pretty sure he had kicked off the sheet at some point in the evening. _Aw,_ he thought, _cuddling!_ He loved cuddling. He had won Chuck over…

Then there was a grumbling sound, and he opened his eyes, and realized that he was spooning Max, who was between he and Chuck. _It’s a start,_ he thought. The dog liked to cuddle, at least.

 

The stirring of the bed woke up Chuck, and he blinked his eyes open and smiled at the sight of the two of them. “That’s sweet,” he said, voice low and raspy. “You two make a lovely couple.”

 

“Mmm,” Raleigh murmured, which startled Max awake. He turned his head and looked at Raleigh and seemed displeased to find himself cuddled. He made a grumbling noise and sort of flopped and wiggled over towards Chuck.

Raleigh leaned over first to give Chuck a light peck before Max could kiss his face. “Morning.”

 

Chuck tipped his face up to accept Raleigh’s kiss, then sat up and made to get out of bed. He paused halfway up, face kind of shifting towards confusion, and got to his feet more slowly. “Huh,” he said, turning in a slow circle. “Well, that’s new.”

 

Raleigh frowned, trying to figure out what possibly could have changed between last evening and now. “What?”

 

Chuck carefully made his way to the bathroom, one deliberate step at a time. “No regrets, but, I wasn’t kidding about your cock needing a warning label. Feels like I fell down a flight of stairs and landed on my tailbone.” Slight hyperbole, but he definitely was sore and tender in an unfamiliar way.

 

“Oh, yeah,” Raleigh said, and he felt a distinct and slightly embarrassing blush creep over his face. He scratched at the back of his head. “Yeah, that’s...to be expected, I guess, uh...you want me to make it up to you?” He cracked a slight grin.

 

Chuck snagged his discarded boxer briefs and pulled them on en route to the bathroom. “How’s that work?” he said, pausing at the door to look back at Raleigh, who looked even more adorable and puppyish than usual with that blush on his face.

 

“That would be up to you…” he said. Max groaned. “Hey,” he said to the dog. “That wasn’t that bad, you know.”

 

“Oh, you don’t have to… Actually, yeah,” Chuck said. “Breakfast? Only I don’t feel like going out, so, y’know, if you felt like it…” He smiled winsomely.

 

“Yeah, no problem,” Raleigh said. “What are you in the mood for? I saw a Dunkin’ Donuts on the way in, so...bagels? Coffee?” He shifted and sat up. He felt a little bit bad that Chuck was feeling it, but damn, it also kind of made him...he couldn’t help but glance down at his cock and smile slightly.

 

Chuck nodded, pouring himself a glass of water. “One of those bagel sandwiches, maybe? Definitely coffee.” He leaned against the doorjamb, arms crossed over his chest, and smiled at Raleigh. “Smug doesn’t match your complexion,” he teased.

 

“Uh,” Raleigh said, and looked at Chuck and widened his eyes. “Guess I’m not used to…” He shrugged his shoulders and then got out of bed, kicking up his boxer briefs and catching them in his hand. “Does Max need anything?”

 

“Yeah, get an extra bagel sandwich for him too,” Chuck said. “And I was kidding. Kinda like smug on you, actually.” He dug around in his bag for his toothbrush and started brushing his teeth, grinning at Raleigh around a mouthful of foam. “Less puppy, more sex god, you know.”

 

“You’re the, uh…” Raleigh stumbled over the words because it sounded silly to say. He pulled his shirt on and then reached for his jeans. “That would definitely be you. I just...um, I don’t know much about dogs, but shouldn’t he eat dog food?”

 

“Doesn’t do any harm to eat human food once in a while, as long as it’s not too heavy on grains,” Chuck said, spitting toothpaste into the sink. “Eggs and cheese and meat are fine as a treat.” He rinsed his mouth out. “But he appreciates the concern, don’t you, Max?”

Max looked supremely uninterested.

 

“Right then,” Raleigh said, and he grabbed his wallet and keys. “I’ll be back then - hopefully in about twenty minutes?” He gave Chuck a smile and then pressed his lips together. _Sex god,_ he thought, and shook his head before he opened the door and headed for the car.

 

Chuck took a quick shower, because he still felt all weird and sticky from last night, and then curled up in clean boxer briefs on the bed, Max in his lap. He pulled out his book and flipped to page he was on, keeping his hand moving over Max’s ears and back, because he really did feel bad about neglecting him for the last few weeks.

 

Mako knocked on the door carefully - she wasn’t sure if Chuck would want to speak with her, but she had been neglecting their friendship. Raleigh had been very...time consuming, lately. “Chuck?”

 

Chuck looked up at Mako’s call, setting the book to the side with one hand holding the page open. “Uh, yeah? You can come in.”

 

“I came to see Max,” she said, though they both knew this was bullshit. “And to get a little quiet, if that is all right?” She tilted her head back towards the other dorm. Given how much they had all drank last night, she was surprised how raucous everyone was this morning - though Yancy might still be intoxicated.

 

Chuck smirked, but didn’t call her out on the bluff. “Sure, c’mon in. Raleigh’s getting brekkie - if you let him know, I’m sure he’d pick up something for you too.” He closed his book to show that he was all ears, because he was fairly sure this wasn’t a purely social visit.

 

“Yes, lovely,” she said, and sat down at the edge of the bed and texted Raleigh quickly. _Yeah no probs!! :)_ came back, and she shook her head. Oh, Raleigh. “I think Yancy and Tendo are having a bit of a...trying to show who is alpha,” she finished. Which was true. Both were frustrated, it seemed, with another night with the girls all passing out together. “Though Max, I think, has proven he is.” She reached and scrunched Max’s ears as he grumbled, content.

 

“Other Becket missed out on getting laid again, then?” Chuck said, because no one who was having good sex on the regular could be that irritable and competitive, not even Chuck himself. It explained why he’d been in such a good mood as of late.

He rubbed Max under the chin. “I don’t think Max likes Raleigh much,” he said, which was curious and a bit worrisome. Usually Max had good taste when it came to Chuck’s beaus.

 

“Yes,” Mako said. “It seems that there is some…” She shook her head. It was more Alona and Imogene, she thought. She did not have much insight into what motivated this, though, she had never really been good at understanding other women. “I think that he likes him,” she said. “Usually your friends come to your house, right? But Max has been taken to a strange place and then sent to spend time with strange people while you and Raleigh… he probably is, well, jealous.”

 

The way she said that, Chuck felt even worse. Terrible pet-owner, he was - bringing Max to a new place and then ditching him to go fuck some random guy. Max didn’t seem to broken up about it at the moment, though, tongue lolling in a doggie smile as Chuck lavished him with attention. “Yeah,” he said. “Guess we’ll be spending more weekends here, then. Not many hotels allow it.”

He kissed Max’s forehead, then straightened up to look at Mako. “So what’s really up?” he pressed.

 

“It does not make you a bad, uh...pet parent,” Mako said, and she leaned in and rubbed some spots on Max that he was not covering. “He enjoyed himself last night. He was most popular with all of us. I would have fought Raleigh for him.” She gave Chuck a slight smile. “I wanted to see how you were doing. We have not spoke in some time.”

 

Chuck frowned. It hadn’t felt that long to him, but thinking back, she was right. Quality time had been hard to come by, with campers and activities taking up their time. That, and Raleigh. Not many of Chuck’s leisure hours were spent away from Raleigh, as of late.

Crap, he felt kind of bad about that too.

“Just been busy, I guess,” he said, voice the slightest bit softer than normal. “You know, shit happens, and…”

 

“Chuck, it is fine,” Mako said. “You are enjoying yourself. Besides, I am on the other side of the lake.” She met Max at eye level and he grinned at her. “That is why I thought I would come over now.”

 

“And for Max,” Chuck said, smiling. “Mostly Max.” He couldn’t blame her. Max was a good selling point. Chuck had a feeling he was the only reason Chuck’s campers hadn’t held a full-on revolt by now.

He relaxed back, leaning against the headboard, still absently rubbing Max’s belly. “So did you wanna talk about anything in particular, or…?”

 

“Max is a good boy,” said Mako. “Well, we do not have to - I realize I am both of your friends - but you are doing well?” Mako had been there for a lot of Chuck’s past rocky relationships, so it wasn’t unusual for her to ask him about these things. She had been the one there for the break-ups, some particularly bloody. And she had been the one that he had gloated at as well.

 

Chuck shrugged. “Yeah, it’s all good. He’s, uh, pretty much an overgrown puppy, but it works on him.” He looked down at Max as he said, studiously casual, “Fucked me last night. That was fun.” He wondered if she knew how big Raleigh’s dick was. It seemed hard to miss.

 

Mako opened her mouth to say something and then closed it. She had not expected that - it was probably the last thing that she had thought Chuck would do. She knew how strongly he felt about it. “Well, that is…” She thought about this, what it might mean that Chuck had opened himself up to be that vulnerable. “It was fun?” she asked, thoughts finally clearing as she remembered something that Yancy had said, something Tendo had said, and an outline she had caught once in a pair of sweatpants.

 

Chuck read the look on her face and laughed. “Eight inches, I reckon,” he said, grinning. “So, keep that in your spank bank.” His sprawl shifted, more smarmy, like he was laying himself out so everyone could worship him - although being worshipped for being able to take a monster dick wasn’t something he would normally brag about.

 

Mako nodded her head. “Goodness,” she said. She was still trying to get used to the idea that Chuck had actually let someone fuck him - that he had given that to Raleigh. Not that he was a virgin, but. “And it was pleasurable? I have never…” She shook her head.

 

“It, uh,” Chuck winced. He shifted, reminded of the lingering soreness. “It was good. Really good. But I think it’ll get better when - if, uh, if I get more accustomed to it.” He leaned forward, trying not to show how much his lower back was killing him.

 

“I would imagine,” Mako said. “That is sort of like…” She could not think of a very good analogy, since she was still thinking about how big Raleigh’s dick was. Those Beckets. If she ever needed sperm for a child… “doing your first dive off of a ten meter platform.” She winced. She could have done better there.

 

“I went with stealing the Hope Diamond on my first con,” Chuck said, smiling. He remembered why he liked Mako so much - so straightforward, but also tactful at the same time. “Which, granted, probably didn’t make much sense, what with me saying it in the middle of sex, and all.”

 

“Oh goodness,” Mako said. “That is not your normal style, is it?” she asked. Raleigh must have been - well, he must have had some idea of how to get Chuck to that point.

 

Chuck shrugged. “Guess not,” he said, squinting at her suspiciously, trying to gauge what she was getting at with all her questions and incredulity.

 

“It just…” and here, she supposed, her concern for Raleigh was bleeding through. She got herself here, though, and felt bad about revealing something Raleigh had said to her - but Chuck must have been sort of aware of it. Raleigh was fairly transparent. “Well, it is just, I know Raleigh is worried that he is not very good at…” she waved her hand over the bed and then pet Max.

 

Chuck frowned. He had seen flashes of that, but he hadn’t pieced together how deep Raleigh’s insecurities ran. Which was patently ridiculous, because Raleigh knew how to fucking move. “Dunno what he’s so shy about, he’s - good.” He smiled, thinking back on the night before. “Like, really good.”

 

“I would tell him,” Mako said. “It is not that he is shy, I just…” She paused, but then again, she had revealed many things about Chuck to Raleigh. She was just going to have to accept being in the middle of these two ridiculous boys. “In his past experience I think that he has developed this impression. And also given how...well, his response to last week…”

 

Chuck shook his head, smiling inwardly. The funny thing was, last week hadn’t been his best showing. Usually stamina was one of his strong suits, but Raleigh… Jesus, Raleigh Becket’s voice, and abs, and ass, and smile. All over for his self-control.

“S’pretty incredible, innit?” Chuck said, stretching. “That someone that pretty hasn’t had his pick of sex partners. ‘pparently everyone’s always trying to get him to top, and he’s not into that so much. But yeah, he’s definitely good. Not as much practice as me, maybe, but he makes up for it in enthusiasm.” He waited a beat. “And the eight inch cock, and all.”

 

“I think that makes sense,” Mako said, slyly pulling Max towards her when Chuck wasn’t paying much attention. “I do not know much about men who have sex with men, but...if you had a partner with a cock like that, would you not want them to - or assume that they topped?” It made sense that Raleigh would want to bottom, though.

 

“Yeah, and that’s why he doesn’t say it, I reckon.” Chuck nodded. “People-pleaser, and all. Wants everyone to like him all the time.” He ruffled her hair. “I promise, Mori, I’m taking care of him.” His voice dipped low and sly, telling her exactly how he was ‘taking care’ of Raleigh.

 

“Good,” she said. He deserved it in a relationship. Anyone did. “As for his looks...it is perhaps enough to bring someone in, but Raleigh has been very particular. At least from what Yancy says. I also think that...well, an enthusiastic puppy is not for everyone, eight inch cock or not.” She almost giggled, thinking about the discussion between Raleigh and Herc that Yancy had recreated.

 

“He can be kind of a whacker,” Chuck said in agreement. “I like dogs, though.” He rubbed Max’s neck, and smiled. “That’s it, then? The shovel talk’s over? He’s gonna be back soon, so you may as well say it if you’ve got something to add.”

 

Mako shook her head. “I would not have expected you two to get along so well, but I am pleased you do,” she said. “Besides, I have known you much longer, Chuck. I should be giving the shovel talk to Raleigh.”

 

“Did you?” Chuck wondered aloud. He wouldn’t put it past her. And Herc had already done it, in his own roundabout way. “Other Becket hasn’t really given me one, though sometimes I think he wants to.”

 

“In a way,” Mako said. “As you said, Raleigh is concerned with pleasing people, so. It may not be phrased as Herc had.” She grinned again. “Other Becket is not really who you think he is, you know. I do not know why you two are so…” She wanted to say rub each other the wrong way but given the context of the discussion.

 

“Yancy’s a shithead,” Chuck said, shrugging. “But we’re doing alright, I think. We talked a little, and, uh, he ate all that jerky.” He shook his head, still impressed and amused at Yancy’s gesture in doing that. “He hasn’t really said anything since me and Raleigh started dating.”

 

“He is a shithead for...well,” Mako said, because she was not sure how much Yancy knew about the Beckets. “Initially I think he was just to suss you out. Now…” she reached forward and pet Max on the head.

 

Chuck groaned. “Honestly, I think we’d have patched things up already if you people would stop harping on us about it. We’re cool. He’s mostly paranoid I’m gonna hurt Raleigh, and since I don’t condone abusing puppies, it’ll work itself out.”

 

“He cannot help it,” Mako said. “I think that is what older brothers do.” She would not know.

 

Chuck shrugged. “Not from what I’ve seen, but Scott’s kind of a special case.” He checked the time on his phone. Raleigh should be back soon, he thought. Good thing too, he was hungry.

 

Mako turned when the door opened - eerie, as if Chuck had somehow known. “Oh, hey, Mako,” Raleigh said. “You mind giving me a hand with the drinks?”

“Not at all,” she replied, and stood up from the bed. She couldn’t help but note that Max’s tail was wiggling and that he was at least considering standing up to greet Raleigh. Chuck was overreacting, it seemed.

 

Chuck sat up, smiling. The similarity between his reaction and Max’s was noticeable, but it would be better not to point it out. “Hey, ya lazy bludger,” he said, holding his hands out for food. “Take longer, would you?” But he was grinning, and when Raleigh was within ranged he tugged him down for a quick kiss before he stole away the bag of sandwiches.

 

“There was a very long line,” Raleigh said, grinning at getting the same reaction between Chuck and Max - and he was the puppy? He smiled as Mako set the coffee drinks on the bedside table and then began to check to see who had what. He unwrapped his bagel with cream cheese and smiled. “How are you feeling, Mako?”

“I am fine,” she said. “I perhaps made some better decisions than the others, considering their plans for today.”

 

Chuck winced as his back twinged when he leaned forward. So much for freediving or sky diving or urban climbing or whatever - his plans didn’t look like they would move beyond ‘stay in the hotel and read with Max.’

“I didn’t,” he said, but he didn’t sound too disappointed about it. Totally worth it. He grinned at Raleigh as he ripped chunks off the sausage, egg and cheese layers of the sandwich and fed them to an ecstatic Max.

 

“Alona has found a hike she is determined to go on,” said Mako. “Then she is going to jump off some cliff. She read about it on some blog.” She looked over at Chuck and was a little amused - normally he would have been all over that sort of thing, but he kind of winced. _Poor thing,_ she thought, but not really.

 

“God dammit,” Chuck said, frowning at his sandwich. He ate a bite of his own before feeding another bit of sausage to Max. “If it’s any good and I miss it, I’m gonna seriously reconsider training Max to shit on your pillow.” He paused. “You know, fuck it, maybe I’ll just go.” Chuck had always been a ‘be a man, rub some dirt in it’ kinda guy.

 

“Oh,” said Raleigh. He looked at Mako and she shrugged her shoulders. She was only reporting what she knew. “We could…”

“The hike is not supposed to be too arduous,” Mako said. “It is rated easy online.”

“Yeah, it’s just...remember what happened last year when we did that?” Raleigh asked.

“It is a different cliff,” Mako said.

 

“I’ll be fine,” Chuck said, accidentally letting the hand holding his own sandwich drift too low, which Max gleefully took advantage of by pouncing and gobbling up a good half before Chuck pulled it out of reach, scowling. “Little shit, just eat the rest,” Chuck said, not even approaching any real anger. He scratched Max behind the ears while feeding him the rest of his bagel.

 

“No, not you,” said Raleigh. “Yancy got a black widow spider bite and it basically liquified his skin. Had to get I.V. antibiotics.”

Raleigh looked over at Mako, who shrugged her shoulders. “You are always complaining about him being fat,” Mako said. “Has it occurred to you that this is why?”

 

“Shh, Max, don’t listen to her,” Chuck said, covering Max’s ears with his hands while glaring at her. He shook his head at Raleigh. “And mate, I’m from Australia, there is literally nothing you can say about spiders that we don’t have bigger, badder, and generally worse in every way.”

 

“Right, but,” Raleigh said. “Doesn’t mean you are going to like it any better…” He shook his head, it didn’t matter. “I think you are delightfully handsome, Max.” He reached over and massaged Max’s ears. Max grinned at him, and Raleigh turned his head. He couldn’t understand him, right?

 

Chuck grinned. “He’s my smart, handsome little man,” he said, taking a coffee from the side table and sipping on it. “And you’re my… moderately intelligent, slightly above average looking normal-sized man-child.”

 

“Aw, thanks,” Raleigh said, grabbing for his own coffee, sort of sprawling over Mako to get to it. “It’s really nice to get such a compliment, to see you think so highly of me.”

Mako blinked and then shook her head. “I am going to go back over there, now,” she said. “Thank you for breakfast, Raleigh.”

 

Chuck had almost forgotten she was there, honestly, but he turned to her when she said that. “You don’t have to, we’re not gonna start madly groping in front of you, or whatever.” He sat back, then amended, “Might make Rals give me a massage, though. If that happens to lead to mad groping, whoops, my bad.”

 

“Chuck,” Mako said, and she smiled at him. “It is fine. They should probably have adult supervision anyway.” She did her best to communicate to him that this was more than fine. She reached over and gave Max a kiss straight on the mouth, figuring that should suffice.

 

Chuck blinked at her, mildly confused at whatever had just happened. He hadn’t been worried, really, although her attempt to assure him was sweet if unnecessary. Although, reassure him of what, he wasn’t entirely certain.

“Um, kay,” he said. “I just meant - it’s not like we’re gonna start making out as soon as you leave either. I haven’t been sitting here thinking… Never mind.” He sighed. “Yeah, someone should probably check on those assholes.”

 

Raleigh stopped smushing Max’s face as soon as the door closed. Then he raised his eyebrows at Chuck. “We’re not?” he asked, hoping to add a little bit more levity to the situation.

 

“I don’t even know what just happened,” Chuck groaned, rolling over and pressing his face into the pillow. “Was I the awkward one there, or her?”

 

“Um,” Raleigh said. “I think it was fine, really. It’s always kind of awkward, when you’re...odd numbered.” He nodded his head - Chuck’s whole perception had to come from whatever he and Mako had been talking about. He could imagine. He’d certainly been utilizing Mako’s particular skills and ability to talk plainly.

 

“Whatever,” Chuck said, because apparently he was the only one who thought things were awkward and he was over it. “I was serious about the massage, though. You any good?”

 

“Ah,” Raleigh said. “I’m not sure…um, roll over?” Chuck immediately rolled onto his stomach and Raleigh reached for the good lube which could, apparently, also be used as a sensual massage oil. Was sensual massage the same as regular massage? Probably. He coated his hands while Max watched him, and then he put his hands on Chuck’s shoulder blades and ran his thumbs down the blades before he found the muscle and began to knead his fingers into it. “This all right? You have, um, really great shoulders.” He knew they were broad, but fuck. Chuck's upper back rippled with muscle.

 

“Thanks,” Chuck said, because what else was he supposed to say? He gave a shivery moan when Raleigh dug his thumbs in just right, then lifted his ass a little. “Lower, yeah? S’my lower back that’s all sore, just, uh, where those dimpley things are.”

 

“Oh,” Raleigh said. He still worked his hands down, working into the tense muscle throughout Chuck’s back. “Hold on, getting there, you’ve got a knot right here.” He started to knead into it and managed to release it by pressing hard onto the muscle. “There.”

Max made a grumbling sound and then rolled over onto his back, exposing his stomach. “Aw. Uh-oh.”

 

“Oh, fuck me,” Chuck said when Raleigh started really digging into his muscles, an exclamation rather than a demand. He arched his back, sort of rolling his hips down into the mattress. “Yeah, uh, totally lied, this is _definitely_ gonna end in groping.”

He twisted so he could rub Max’s belly while Raleigh worked him over. “We’ll give him to the girls, they seem to like him enough. ‘specially ‘cause I don’t want him to be here when I say my thanks for the massage.”

 

“I, oh,” Raleigh said, because he thought he was paying Chuck back for...nevermind. “I’m not even where you said you were sore yet, there we go…” He didn’t want to tell Chuck that the problem wasn’t really so much his lower back muscles, but he was a bit tight. Then he tugged down on Chuck’s mesh shorts, pulling them down to expose his ass. He began to massage that as well, getting his fingers in deep into the firm muscle. “Really nice ass,” he said.

 

Chuck moaned, turning all shivery and melty and loose under Raleigh’s fingers. He had to take his hand off Max to tangle it in the sheets by his head, moving his other hand to his mouth to bite down on the knuckle. “Bloody hell,” he said, shifting so his cock wasn’t as uncomfortably pinned between his pelvis and the bed.

 

“I’m just gonna, uh, take Max now,” Raleigh said, as soon as Chuck got his hand on his cock. “Come on, Max, you want to go and see Mako and your girlfriends?” Max looked at him suspiciously and Raleigh just scooped him up before he could protest. “Be right back!”

He darted over to the other room and opened the door. “Hey, guys, want a bulldog?” Max started wiggling in his arms when Imogene and Sasha both made cooing noises. Raleigh set him down and he ran over to them where they were curled on the couch.

 

Mako just started laughing. “Not going to start making out immediately?” she teased.

 

“I had nothing to do with it,” Raleigh said. “Nor was I the one who made that claim.” He nodded his head.

 

“I am sure,” she said, shaking her head. “Tell Chuck he is deserving of much mockery.”

Tendo laughed. “Use protection!”

 

“Right, yes, absolutely,” Raleigh said, though he felt himself blush slightly at that. He really should have - but then, Chuck hadn’t...whatever. He knew he was clean, and Chuck took it seriously enough that...

 

“Raleigh!” Mako scolded, seeing that look. “You better be…”

“Oh, Raleigh,” Tendo groaned.

 

“Um, thanks for looking out for Max, guys,” Raleigh said, and then closed the door behind him. He swallowed. He was not going to...he inhaled, exhaled, and then grinned.

He opened the door to their room. “Chuck?”

 

Chuck had turned over and was sitting back against the headboard, kind of lazily stroking himself through his boxer briefs. He grinned at Raleigh, looking up at him through his lashes. “Yeah, Rals?”

 

“Oh, fuck,” Raleigh said, watching Chuck palm himself. “Oh. I was going to finish the, uh, massage, but…” He nodded his head and grinned.

 

“Yeah, do that,” Chuck said, rolling back over onto his hands and knees. He sank down onto his belly, propping himself up on his elbows so he could look back at Raleigh. “You can wait a bit longer to get my mouth on you, right?”

 

“Um, sure,” Raleigh said - because he hadn’t been sure what he was going to get, and that was a very good...yes. He straddled over Chuck’s thighs and began to work his hands back into the flesh right above his ass, fanning his fingers out and pressing in before he rubbed his knuckles in. Then he moved down and began to massage Chuck’s ass vigorously, working his fingers deep into the flesh and groaning slightly himself just from touching him like this.

 

“Fuck,” Chuck said, mouth working soundlessly against the pillow. He pressed back into Raleigh’s hands. “Wish you could just… But I guess, sitting in a kayak all day tomorrow…” He would already be uncomfortable enough as it was, to say nothing of the added soreness if Raleigh fucked him again. But it was so tempting - Raleigh was right there, and Chuck was so loose and open already, he could just slide right in.

 

“Chuck?” Raleigh said. He knew what Chuck was thinking, and this wasn’t a decision he could make for him. He’d be more than happy to fuck Chuck again, sink deep inside of him, but he also _knew._ “Sitting after...it’s not great, and that’s just sitting in class.”

 

Chuck bit his lip, hips moving in abortive little circles. “I know, it’s just…” He didn’t know how to describe it, the way his body was clenching up just imagining Raleigh entering him again, filling him up with cock. “I know it’s a stupid idea, but that doesn’t make me stop wanting it.”

 

There was something about the clear want from Chuck that was making the blood flow straight to his cock, making it more difficult for him to formulate a response. Strange, too, because he never got - topping was good, yeah, in the past, but there was something about Chuck that just made him want to hold him down and- “I know,” he said. “Yeah, I know.”

 

“God, fuck,” Chuck said, squirming his hand between his pelvis and the mattress to palm his cock. He tried to think straight, and then gave up, because - “I’m 18 bloody years old, I’m allowed to make bad decisions.” He lifted up onto his hands and knees and looked over his shoulder at Raleigh, swiping his tongue over his lower lip. “Fuck me? Please?”

 

“You don’t have to ask,” Raleigh said, and he felt his mouth dry at how Chuck looked like that, desperate and with his ass in the air like that. Besides, he had an idea. He reached for the sensual massage lube and coated his fingers, then kissed Chuck’s ass before he slid a finger straight in. “Oh, fuck,” he murmured, because Chuck was so much more open and pliant than he had been last night, though his rational brain knew he should expect this.

 

Chuck shuffled his knees further apart. He gave a breathy sigh, because sure he was tender, but Raleigh’s touch was gentle enough that it felt good, sending slow waves of heat up his spine. “Never thought of cockslut as a compliment before,” he said thoughtfully, then, “Yeah, Rals, more.”

 

“Oh, God,” Raleigh said. “It feels amazing, though, doesn’t it?” he asked, adding another finger and beginning to stretch Chuck. He hooked his fingers at his prostate, slow, dragging them over loosely and using his other hand to rub circles on Chuck’s lower back.

 

Chuck moaned and nodded, fingers clutching at the sheets. “Yeah, Christ, you feel so good like that, need you in me,” he breathed out. He and his prostate were going to be new best friends, he decided, and had to regret taking so long to come to that decision.

 

“Yeah, you’re so open for me,” Raleigh said, and he pressed against Chuck’s prostate a little harder before he slid three fingers into Chuck and twisted, maximizing the contact. “Feel so amazing around my cock, too, Chuck.” He took the hand off Chuck’s lower back and worked his own cock. Fuck, he thought - all of Chuck’s trepidation, last week, about this, and now he was… “Fuck, I like how you’re gagging for it,” he said. He didn’t sound that unsure.

 

Chuck may have taken offense at that, but it was pretty much true. He let out shallow breaths through his open mouth, reaching back to grab whatever part of Raleigh he could reach - his shoulder - and drag him closer. “Rals,” he said in a truly embarrassing whine. “Stop teasing. I’m ready, you know I am. Want you to make me take it.” His spine flexed, new cascades of sparks running from his prostate like a live-wire through his body.

 

“Oh,” Raleigh said, sliding his fingers out of Chuck. He could fuck him like this, definitely, but- “Because I thought, if you’re concerned about...you could ride me?” He had a feeling Chuck might really like that, too.

 

Chuck didn’t say anything back, not in words, but he felt his rumbling groan was answer enough. “Next time, though,” he said. “I still want you to fuck me hard, ‘m not giving up on that.” But not right now, he knew. And hell yeah, he wanted to ride Raleigh, get to control the pace while Raleigh lay spread out beneath him.

 

“Yeah, yeah,” Raleigh said, and slid back and arranged the pillows behind him and then laid back. He grinned as Chuck straddled over him, cock hard and bobbing against his stomach. “Fuck, you look so good, Chuck…”

 

Chuck bit his lip as he positioned Raleigh at his entrance and started to sink down onto his cock. Just as big from this position, but, uh, less of a stretch now, and also he could spread his knees more, so - Check-plus idea, Raleigh.

He smiled, kind of dazedly, as he bottomed out and rested there for a minute to adjust. “I’m gonna write sonnets to your cock,” he said, rotating his hips in tiny circles without lifting up yet. He braced his palms on Raleigh’s chest. “‘cept there aren’t words in the English language dirty enough for what I wanna do to you.”

 

Raleigh’s eyes widened at this, and he just nodded - not having to control things, he was able to focus on the feel of Chuck, and he was so fucking tight and he just took Raleigh all the way down, deep inside of him and, really. Fucking hell. “OK,” Raleigh said, and he reached and rested his hands on Chuck’s hips. “I support these ideas, whatever they are - fuck, you feel amazing.”

 

Chuck raised himself up and then dropped down again, setting a slow, steady pace that dragged just right over his sensitive internal walls. “I had big plans this weekend, you know - gonna take you out, teach you to freedive, that kinda shit. But mate, we’re not leaving this hotel room until I get you off so many times you’re milked dry with it.” He twisted his hips, almost roughly, but oh, it was so fucking sweet. “Can’t wait to get your cock in my mouth, feels like it’s been ages. I’ve been thinking about it all week.”

 

“Really?” Raleigh asked, and, of course, Chuck was a natural at this. He moaned as he slid slowly up and down his cock, resisting the urge to flick his hips up and set a stronger pace until Chuck indicated he was ready for it. “Fuck…you are, your mouth is…” Milked him dry? Christ. He was not going to be able to move tomorrow.

 

“Yeah, I hear I’ve got kind of a dirty mouth,” Chuck said in a near-purr. He lifted himself and slammed back down, biting back a cry at the spike of molten pleasure that shot up his spine. “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet, kid. Just be glad I haven’t started talking to you in public. I’ve thought about it, you know -” He looked down and met Raleigh’s gaze, his own eyes hot and half-lidded. “Bout all the things I wanna do to you when you’re out there in just your boardies, showing off those pretty abs, fucking shoulders you’ve got. Haven’t whispered how often I think about sneaking you out of your bunk to suck you off at the bonfire sight after everyone’s gone. I’ve been good, so far.” He smirked. “We’ll see how long that lasts.”

 

“Oh, fuuck,” Raleigh said, because this was not fair. “I think that too, uh, you doing hand stands on your kayak. Too bad you wear that shirt, though…” He groaned as Chuck thrust almost all the way off his cock and then bore down again. “Fuck, I knew you would like this,” he said, grasping at his hips a little harder and digging his fingers in. Chuck would look good with some bruises, he thought.

 

_I like everything you do to me_ , Chuck almost said, but thankfully bit it back in time. Instead, he just issued a long, drawn-out moan as Raleigh’s fingers gripped his skin, seeming to approve of the pressure.

Or, approve somewhat, because slow and gentle was good and all but now - He slapped Raleigh’s hip and said, “Move with me, sweetheart. Show me what all those muscles are good for.”

 

“Yeah?” Raleigh said, and he easily slid into the rhythm with Chuck, thrusting his hips up along with how Chuck was riding him. He dug his fingers in harder, then moved a hand forward and gently grasped Chuck’s cock. “Fuck, you have no idea how good you look like this,” Raleigh said, and he was able to get a great view of Chuck fucking himself on his cock. “I never thought...uh, Chuck, yes!”

 

“Never thought what, that I’d look good like this?” Chuck said, though the effect of his teasing was somewhat lessened by the way his voice cracked as Raleigh’s cock slid over his prostate. “Wow, talk about your boner-killer.”

Funny for him to say that while his own hard-on was stiff and throbbing in Raleigh’s hand, so sensitive just the light touch was enough to make his head swim.

 

“No, that you would...that this would be something you would be so enthused about,” Raleigh groaned, and Chuck was clearly further gone than him but that was... _maybe I am a sex god,_ he thought, and he grinned slowly as he thrust his hips up hard into Chuck, who was almost bouncing on him now. “Knew you would look good like this.”

He gripped Chuck’s cock a little harder and met Chuck’s eyes.

 

“Hey now, I told you the very first time I saw it that I was gonna get it inside me, more than once,” Chuck pointed out. “Just need to have a little more faith in me, I reckon.”

He narrowed his eyes, not liking how much more composed Raleigh was than him at that moment. So he thumbed over Raleigh’s nipples, twisting and toying with them to the same rhythm as his hips. Bent over and tongued over one for a too-brief moment before sitting back up to resume the roll of his hips.

 

So Chuck had picked up on it - and, hell, he wasn’t the one who got the sensual massage, who’d sat and palmed himself while Raleigh had gone and taken care of Max. He thrust a little harder up into Chuck.

“Not about faith,” Raleigh said, and then decided to drop it - no point in arguing over his perception of Chuck’s willingness to do this versus Chuck’s. “Fuck, that’s, fuck!” Chuck was twisting his nipples and teasing them again, and he shivered as the touch. “That is. Christ.”

 

Chuck moaned, and then bit his lip again, head tipping back. “That all you’ve got, Becket?” he murmured. “You’re supposed to make me feel it, remember?” He dragged his fingernails in wide lines over Raleigh’s chest, enough to sting in that maddening, enticing way.

 

“If you want,” Raleigh said, and he grinned slightly and then lifted his hips, flicking twice, just like he did for his butterfly kick. His grin widened when he remembered how he had been doing it on a bed like this that first night, just without Chuck riding on top of him. “Like that, Chuck?” He hit the first thrust hard and the second was a little looser, still matching Chuck’s rhythm as he worked his way into him, deep and hard.

 

“What’s it look like?” Chuck grinned, hips working feverishly, sweat gleaming at his temples. “Does it look like I like this? Look like this is what I think about when I’ve got my hand on my dick?” He licked his lips, curling his fingers around his cock and giving a groan of relief at the contact. “It should,” he said.

 

“Oh, fuck,” Raleigh said. “I think so...fuck, you’re so gorgeous, your…” he ran his hands over Chuck’s thighs and just groaned, he was getting close, beginning to feel the tug and tension as he hitched his hips up along with Chuck’s. “I want...I’m not used to the talking…” He felt himself begin to blush, because the sound of Chuck’s voice, as he was riding him, everything in his body flexing and streamlined and- “Fuck!”

 

Chuck shook his head. “It’s a damn shame, how vanilla your sex life has been,” he said. “Got so much more to show you, love. Bet you’ll like being spanked.” He tightened his hand over his cock, panting, out of breath, so fucking close. Everything was tightening low in his belly. “Your arse would look so pretty with my handprints on it.”

 

“Yeah, it would,” Raleigh said. “I would...that would be so good,” He swallowed hard and began to thrust a little harder into Chuck. “I’m so close, Chuck, I want…” He kept his mouth open and worked his jaw a little bit, feeling that familiar, amazing rise and warmth and fuck he needed. “Chuck, I’m going to…”

 

“Yeah, do it, sweetheart,” Chuck said, stripping his own cock with jerks so quick it looked almost painful. His chest heaved with every breath. No matter how many times he heard his name come out of Raleigh’s mouth, it never got old - that low rumble like honey and gravel. “I want you to come for me.”

 

“I, yeah, I’m going to, oh, Chuck!” Raleigh kept eye contact with Chuck as he came inside of him, hard and long, it just kept coming. “Oh my god.” He felt dizzy and disconnected and it was so fucking good, and there was Chuck, still jerking himself, grinning at him with those dimples. “Chuck.”

 

Chuck was still grinning when he came, a low moan trapped behind his teeth. His head lolled back as he spilled out over his knuckles and Raleigh’s chest. Then he kind of slumped over, bracing himself on Raleigh’s chest, with his hands splayed out.

He looked down at Raleigh, eyes sparkling. “Worth it,” he said, still catching his breath.

 

“Good,” Raleigh said, and he took a hand and pulled Chuck down for a kiss. He pressed his tongue in but took it slow, feeling Chuck out carefully and stroking a hand down his back. “That was unexpected and really good,” he said. He shifted, and his cock moved inside Chuck. He groaned.

 

Chuck groaned also, and he lifted himself up and carefully pulled off of Raleigh. “I’m gonna need another shower,” he said. “So’re you. Maybe we should…” He considered the likelihood of being able to get it up again. It was low. “You can wash my hair,” He grinned.

 

“Yeah, definitely,” Raleigh said, looking down at himself, semen from he and Chuck mixing on his belly. He smiled. _You are so, so fucking done for,_ he thought. Then, _shoosh._ He got off the bed awkwardly and stumbled slightly, reached for Chuck and wrapped an arm around his waist to steady himself.

 

Chuck stood carefully, and was pleasantly surprised to find it wasn’t a lot worse than it had been before. His ass was still sore, but nothing unmanageable - the bigger problem were his legs, which were still shaky and boneless from the thorough fucking he’d just received. He had to wrap his arms around Raleigh’s neck for balance. “Shit,” he said, laughing. “Definitely not cliff diving today.”

 

“Damn,” Raleigh said, and tried to mean it. “Come on, you’re sticky.” He kissed at Chuck’s neck and then pulled him into the bathroom. He reached and turned the shower on and then took a minute to take in Chuck, all thoroughly fucked out, hair everywhere and freckles glistening.

_Freckles glistening?_ He shook his head at himself.

 

Chuck stood still for Raleigh’s appreciation, then climbed into the shower and tipped his face up into the spray. “You know,” he said over his shoulder, moving to the side to allow Raleigh room to get in and rinse off. “I’ve never been ashamed to be six and a half inches before. You know what I could do with a dick like yours? By the end of this summer, I’m gonna have you trained so well you could do this professionally.”

 

Raleigh stood behind Chuck, who was absorbing the majority of the spray. He sort of didn’t want to know what Chuck would do if he had a dick like Raleigh’s, which he supposed he should be more comfortable with, or something. But sometimes it got tiresome, everyone going on about your cock. “Trained?”

 

“Yeah, the twisting thing, you know,” Chuck said, gesturing vaguely. “You got the abs for it, too.” He turned and ran a hand down Raleigh’s abs. “You seriously get that all from swimming?”

 

“Yeah,” Raleigh said, and he sighed as Chuck ran a hand over his stomach. “I mean, we do weight training, to, but...it’s basically the best full body workout you can get, and I do all four strokes, so…” He shrugged his shoulders. “Dunno. Yancy used to get pissed in high school, said I could just sit on a couch and eat chips and I’d have a six pack.”

 

“Some guys are just blessed, I guess,” Chuck said, and slipped behind Raleigh to allow the water to sluice over Raleigh’s stomach and rinse the sticky slick off of it. He poured some of the generic hotel body wash on his hands and rubbed them together to make a foam, then started soaping up Raleigh’s chest and stomach before moving lower, hand slick and warm over his cock. But gently, just cleaning it off, nothing overtly sexual.

 

“Oh,” Raleigh said, and he grit his teeth together a little bit as Chuck cleaned his cock. “Oh, that’s nice, I...should probably wash my hair too?” He reached for the shampoo and put his head under the shower, letting the water roll down his shoulders. He kissed Chuck gently before he worked some shampoo in his hands and then rubbed them into Chuck’s hair, pulling him a little closer so he could massage his scalp.

 

“Oh, Jesus,” Chuck said, humming with pleasure so intensely it seemed to vibrate his whole body. He preened, pushing into Raleigh’s hands like a cat. “I am never letting you out of this shower.”

 

“Eventually,” Raleigh said, digging his fingers in a little deeper, “the water is going to get cold. Like lake water cold, and I know how you hate that…” He murmured the last bit, knew that the shirt Chuck wore was for more than just his pale skin.

 

Chuck had heard Tendo making fun of him for this display of wussiness, and he may have gotten more worked up defending himself if Raleigh hadn’t hit the spot at the nape of his neck that made him whimper and pretty much dissolve into a pliant puddle of goo. “Still worth it.”

 

“Oh, you like that there?” Raleigh asked. Chuck had basically melted into his touch. He rubbed the spot on Chuck’s neck a little more and then leaned in and pressed a kiss to it. “M’gonna do my hair now, OK?” He squeezed some more shampoo into his hands.

 

Chuck pouted a little when Raleigh pulled away, but he was too content and fucked-out to hold the expression. He closed his eyes and leaned against the shower wall, smiling. Then he opened his eyes. “You know, you don’t have to stay with me all day if you wanted to go out with the others. I’d be fine here with Max.”

 

“Um, I’d like to stay,” Raleigh said. “Last week was pretty busy, I could just use some time to be lazy. Plus, you know. Max.” He massaged his own head, working the shampoo in, and then rinsed it thoroughly. He put a clump of conditioner in his hair and then worked it in.

 

“Mmk, how long do we have the room booked for?” He took the conditioner bottle from Raleigh and massaged some into his hair.“We should go find a park and grab lunch. I’ll throw a frisbee for you and Max, or you can just wrestle with him while I read.” He smirked.

 

“We’re good until five,” Raleigh said. Perfect hotel, really - let you book an extended stay and bring your furry friends along with you. “That would be really nice. Not so great with the frisbee, though.” He rinsed the conditioner out of his hair and moved to step out of the shower.

 

Chuck spent another minute rinsing off, then he stepped out also, grabbing a towel and rubbing it over his hair before moving to dry off his body. As a result, his hair went poofy and wild, poking out at all angles. He wrapped the towel around his waist. “You really are working on accepting your inherent puppy-ness, if you’re just gonna let that one roll off your back.” He rubbed under Raleigh’s chin the way he would for Max. “Such a good boy.”

 

Raleigh kind of pouted, but he sort of liked it - just like he really liked the idea of being spanked. “I didn’t catch that, I don’t think,” he murmured, and he rubbed a towel through his hair before he kissed Chuck. He looked adorable with his poofy post-shower hair. “You look good,” he said.

 

“Yeah, you’ve said that,” Chuck said. He glanced in the mirror and saw the state of his hair, making a face and finger-combing it back into some semblance of order. “And you… Hell, you know you’re pretty as fuck, you don’t need me to tell you.”

 

“Um,” Raleigh said. “To be honest, I would say not really, so it is nice to hear?” He winced at saying something vulnerable like that, but...well, he’d been doing really well, so far, being honest about things - about what he liked and didn’t, so. Why not?

 

For a moment, Chuck thought he had to be kidding, and almost laughed. Then he registered Raleigh’s face, and his own mouth dropped open. “Seriously? Mate, you’re like - top five most attractive people I’ve ever seen in my life, fuck.” He flicked Raleigh’s nipple. “Like, you’ve seen your face in a mirror, right? Do you even - you know what you look like when you smile, right? Like…” He appeared genuinely flabberghasted.

 

“Really? Aw,” Raleigh said, but he felt himself blush. “Thanks - I mean, yeah, but…” He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know,” he said. “Plus no one has ever told me I’m pretty before.” He grinned at Chuck and then kissed his cheek.

 

“I guess no one’s said it to your face, because I know people say it behind your back,” Chuck said, pulling on his boxer briefs and then turning to grin at Raleigh toothily. “You should hear what the girls camp says about you - all those 14-year-olds. Mako says they fight over which of them gets to marry you when they turn legal. And the counselors, they’re just dirty. _Yeah, the younger Becket, he’s got a face you could sit on_ ,” he said, mimicking a higher pitched voice.

 

“Oh my god,” Raleigh said, and he felt himself turning really red. “Oh, fuck, that’s…” He rubbed at the back of his neck. “Guess I’m just kind of used to everyone being fixated on Yancy, you know?” He shrugged his shoulders again. “Huh. Well good to know I’ve got a large pool to choose my spouse from.”

 

“Yeah nah, remember, I’ve got dibs,” Chuck said. “Trophy husband, ringing any bells?” He stepped up closer to Raleigh and wove his arms around his neck, cupping the back of his head in one hand.

 

“Oh, yes,” Raleigh replied. “You’ll just have to be prepared to fight them off - and, you know, you’ve got the physical advantage, but girls bite and go right for the eyes. It’s not pretty.” He leaned in and brushed his nose against Chuck’s.

 

“I’ll beat ‘em off with an oar,” Chuck said cheerfully. “‘m not planning on sharing you, pretty Becket.” He kissed Raleigh, dragging his teeth over Raleigh’s lower lip as he pulled away.

 

Raleigh sighed and smiled at Chuck, then nodded his head. “You want me to, uh, go and get Max back?” There was a little part of him that wondered, though, why Chuck was even talking like this. Was this normal, when you knew you were going to..?

 

“I can go,” Chuck said, drawing away and pulling on the closest pair of jeans, which he thought might have been Raleigh’s, because they were a little too long for him, and didn’t sit quite right on his waist.

 

“OK,” Raleigh said, and he pulled his laptop out of his backpack and smiled at him. “I’m just gonna check e-mail and some stuff.”

 

“Alright,” Chuck said, and went to the other room.

 


	7. Chapter 7

Chuck was a little worried Max was gonna be sulky at him for abandoning him over and over again, but the moment he opened the door Max squirmed out of Mako’s arms and trotted to his side, grinning dopily up at him until Chuck knelt and rubbed his face.

Ha, he thought. My dog.

“Thanks,” he said, not looking up because he just knew Mako was gonna be so smug at him. “Such a good boy, behaving yourself for these losers.”

 

“He was delightful,” said Sasha, looking up from the magazine she was flipping through at the table. “Such a nice dog.”

“He tried to convince us he had not had breakfast,” Mako said. “It is a good thing that I knew better.” She looked up at Chuck and met his eyes.

“Hansen, you two coming with us, or what?” Yancy said, popping his head out of the bathroom.

 

Chuck glanced up at Yancy. “Nah, not this time. Gonna hang around in the sun, get some reading done, be lazy today.” He met Mako’s eyes, a wordless demand not to say a word about exactly why he was choosing not to pursue crazy, dangerous antics as was his wont.

 

Mako narrowed her eyes slightly at Chuck - she knew what he was concerned with. She was more concerned about...well, he and Raleigh were big boys and could make their own decisions.

“Sure,” Yancy said. “You guys had a busy week down at the waterfront - Rals has that swim meet coming up this week, too.” He popped back into the bathroom.

“Too bad,” said Alona. “This blog says that this will be a very good jump.”

 

“Oh, dammit,” Chuck sighed, tempted. “I dunno, maybe…” He frowned.

As he thought, Tendo came over and crouched down near him. In a voice that was lower and more serious than any he’d used with Chuck before, he said, “Hey, I know we’re not close, or anything, but…”

Chuck narrowed his eyes.

“You’re -” Tendo seemed just as uncomfortable as Chuck, for once. “You got checked recently, right?”

Chuck stared for another second before realization struck. “What the fuck - did he _tell_ you?” he said, louder than may have been wise, frown deepening into a full-fledged scowl. “Not that it’s any of your business, but yes, I’m not that kind of asshole.”

 

“Chuck,” Mako said, and she nodded towards the door before shooting a deep scowl in Tendo’s direction. She stood and opened the door before Chuck could say something and get the entire room involved. _You dumb fuck,_ she thought - she knew Tendo was just looking out for his friend, but…

She was relieved when Chuck tugged Max outside and slammed the door to the suite.

 

Chuck stomped back into their room, shoulders drawn up. He couldn’t decide what he was more pissed about - that Tendo had been nosy enough to ask, that Tendo thought he was that fucking dumb, or that Raleigh had told him in the first place. Jesus Christ.

He set his jaw and glared when Raleigh looked up from his laptop. “Oi, in case I wasn’t clear enough, your brother and his shadow aren’t particularly welcome in my sex life, so it’d be pretty bloody nice if you didn’t invite them,” he growled.

 

“What?” Raleigh asked, and didn’t understand the anger - almost fury - that was on Chuck’s face. “I don’t...I don’t understand.” He kept his voice measured even though his stomach plummeted and began to churn.

He should have known better.

 

Chuck sneered. “Right. Well, I’m taking Max for a walk, if you need some time to think on it.” He pulled on a t-shirt and grabbed Max’s leash, not even bothering to pull on shoes before he left, where he found Mako waiting in the hallway.

“Oh, did he tell you too, then?” he said, clipping Max’s leash on and walking down the hall to the exit. He didn’t wait to see if she followed.

“Raleigh did not say a word,” Mako said, quickly walking after Chuck. “This is what happened - he came to drop Max off and I teased him a bit about it,” she added, finally catching up with Chuck and Max.

 

It was kind of annoying that he had to match his speed to Max’s waddle, otherwise he might have been able to outrun her. “Yeah, alright,” he said, not particularly calmed by her words. “So it isn’t that he told, it’s that I can’t leave him alone with you and the Dickwads squared for 10 seconds without the information just leaking out of him somehow. Dandy.”

 

“Again, no,” Mako said. She resisted the urge to smile at Dickwads squared. “Tendo was being an ass, and shouted, Use protection, and Raleigh just smiled and said, absolutely, yes, but he...just blushed, slightly, and then went back to your room.” She also resisted the urge to reach for Chuck’s arm and just met his eyes. “Chuck, do not…”

 

“Don’t what?” he growled at her. Was it so wrong to expect basic privacy about something that personal? Like his anger was so unwarranted. “Huh? No, finish that sentence, Mori.”

 

“Raleigh involuntarily revealed that. Be angry with Tendo,” she said. “He was the one who was invasive.”

 

“No worries there, I’m definitely not happy with him either,” Chuck said. He looked down at Max, who looked up at him with his customary doggy grin. God damn.

 

“Tell me why you are angry with Raleigh,” Mako said, because...well, not that she didn’t know where this relationship was going to end, but at least this would be for a rational reason. Not Chuck just deciding to go Hulk Smash about something.

 

“It’s not even him, it’s - _them_ ,” Chuck said, gesturing expansively. “He tells that asshole everything, and then that asshole gets all smarmy and judgey about it. You’ve seen the way Yancy looks at me, like all ‘what could my perfect little brother possibly see in that jackass.’ You know it, don’t lie. I don’t like…” He sighed, voice going small. “I don’t mind telling you shit about my sex life because I know you don’t think less of me for it, but Yancy…”

 

Mako inhaled and nodded her head. “I do not think Raleigh tells Yancy anything intimate,” she said. “And he didn’t in this case, Tendo was just...and Yancy was not even involved. And as for Yancy’s attitude towards you…” She sighed. This was not her story to tell, but she figured Raleigh hadn’t mentioned it because he just assumed everyone at camp knew it by now - but she was pretty sure Chuck did not know. “Do you know about them?”

 

Chuck nodded, though. “I know enough,” he said. “My old man told me, went all Papa Bear about it. He comps them some of their room and board over the weekends because he knows they’re paying their way through college.” He shrugged, discomfort clear in his frame at the sensitive subject matter. “He’s allowed to be protective, whatever. So’s my old man, I get it. But…” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Him and Choi, they’re not just looking out for him, the way they smirk at me. It’s like they know something, or at least, they think they do.”

 

“I don’t think so,” Mako said. “And it is...at least from Yancy’s perspective, I suppose - their parents and younger sister died when Yancy was fourteen and Raleigh thirteen. It has just been the two of them for a long time, and…” She trailed off. Even if Chuck’s relationship was more complicated with Herc, she assumed he would understand on a visceral level. “Perhaps they are smirking at you because they also know about Raleigh’s dick, that ever occur to you?”

 

“No, Mako,” he sighed. “It’s also that they think I won’t be good to him.” He frowned, expression more sad than angry now. “They think I’m gonna hurt him, or be mean to him, or abuse him or whatever. And I’m not. I’ve been…” He rubbed a hand over his face. ‘I’ve been trying so hard,’ he didn’t say.

 

“I understand,” Mako said. “But Yancy will think that about anyone. And I do not think...he does not think you will abuse him.” She felt for Chuck, suddenly. “They are also dickheads. And what they think does not matter. Friends and sisters are always going to be…” She didn’t want to remind him of some past relationships, but. Chuck should know this.

 

He stuck his hands in the pockets of his (Raleigh’s) jeans, shoulders slumping. “What they say matters to him,” he said. “So…” He shook his head. It wasn’t necessarily that he thought they were going to turn Raleigh against him. Just, it wasn’t a good feeling, having your boyfriend’s brother and sole living family hate you.

 

“Raleigh knows how to handle Yancy, even if it looks like…” she waved her hand. “Do you not realize Raleigh likes you very much? And Yancy doesn’t...he does not hate you.” Mako wasn’t sure what else to say. She looked down at Max for help, but he made a soft whining sound.

Then he stood up and wiggled his tail, pleased. Mako turned and saw Raleigh approach and he looked - well. She wasn’t sure if she should stay or go.

 

Chuck looked up and saw Raleigh, and now he just felt like an asshole for freaking out like that, but… Well, he still -

“Yeah, I think I should talk to him,” he told Mako. “You - we can finish this later.” He scuffed his foot along the ground, hands still wedged firmly in his pockets.

 

Raleigh winced at Mako as she walked by, then went up and pet Max when he wiggled up to him. “Hey, handsome,” he said, and then looked up at Chuck. “I - I think I know what happened, and...I really didn’t say anything.”

God, he felt pathetic.

 

“Yeah, that’s what Mako said,” Chuck muttered. He ducked his head. “I shouldn’t have…”

Fuck, he hated apologizing. Just another thing he had picked up from his father, dammit.

 

“Oh,” Raleigh said, and then he smiled and kind of pressed his lips together. “Oops. Well, no, he probably had it coming.”

 

Chuck managed a weak smile. The truth was, his conversation with Mako had hurt more than it helped, he thought. Now instead of being angry, he was just hurt. He’d put words to the insecurities that had been kind of left to simmer, and they fucking sucked.

But he couldn’t express them to Raleigh. Not when they sounded so pathetic just running through his mind. He rocked back on his heels. “We can go back to the room,” he said.

 

“OK,” Raleigh said. “I should let you know, I kind of punched Tendo. But Yancy laughed, so I think it’s OK?” Chuck looked about as raw as he felt, and that didn’t make him feel good, but...well, at least he cared.

Fuck, Raleigh thought, and he reached and put a hand on Chuck’s arm, light, careful, like reaching out to a wounded animal.

 

Chuck shrugged him off. It was strange - he’d been in such a good mood, for the last day. But maybe that was the problem. He had an allotted amount of good nature in any given week, and he’d overshot his quota. And now that he’d been made to think about Yancy and Tendo and - and not being good enough for Yancy’s precious brother, his customary snark was bubbling back up.

“Good,” he said. “Bitch deserved it.”

 

“OK,” Raleigh said, and it looked like Chuck had had a pretty serious conversation with Mako - about what, he sort of felt like he knew, and he wasn’t sure if he should push it or not. He shoved his hands into Chuck’s jeans and got distracted with how they were hitting against his ankle.

“Look…” He stopped and looked forward. He had fucking punched Tendo. This was not a good thing.

 

“Can we not?” Chuck said, making a face. “I just wanna - Can we forget the whole thing?” Along with his given quota of good nature, he had another quota for emotional conversation, and he was way over on that one.

 

“Sure,” Raleigh said, and he exhaled. He started walking back towards their room, feeling unsettled, but not quite sure what to do about it. Chuck was clearly done - and nothing good was going to come from pushing him. He needed some time to cool off, it seemed, and having to share the same hotel room...well, he had things he could do.

 

Chuck curled up in bed as soon as they were back in the hotel room, Max kind of slumped over his chest, and started reading his book. Within a few minutes, he had fallen asleep, his book resting on Max and Max snoring on top of him.

 

Raleigh felt bad for leaving, but they were going to need something to eat for lunch and he felt odd just sitting and staring at Chuck like a creeper while he slept. He went to the local grocery store that he had seen when he went to get breakfast, getting some packaged sandwiches, potato chips, cookies, and a twelve pack of beer. Not that alcohol was the solution to everything, but.

He stared at the dog aisle for longer than was probably necessary, but then found some moist single serve meals - at least Max would get some proper dog food, he thought, and got four of them along with a neon pink squeaky pig and a bone.

Should be sufficient, he thought, but then got some of the gummy candy that he really liked and some that he knew Tendo craved, as a sort of sorry for punching you in the face because you’re a giant dick knob offering. Then he added a pack of cigarettes, remembering that Chuck had smoked a few on the balcony with Yancy that night.

He organized everything in the car before he went back into the hotel room, not wanting to get it all confused.

He opened the door.

 

Chuck looked up from his phone. He had moved so he was sitting cross-legged on the bed, though Max was still sprawled over him. “Hey,” he said, voice soft. “You know, Mako was right. This book is not about dogs at all.” He held up his book. “Curious incident of the dog in the nighttime, my ass.”

 

“Well, there is a dog, right,” Raleigh said, setting down the bags. “And an autistic kid, I think?” He had read that some time ago, or he was pretty sure. “Speaking of dogs…” He pulled the cardboard holder off of the squeaky pig and tossed it on the bed. Max hopped after it happily.

He opened the pack of beer and held one out to Chuck.

 

Chuck watched Max with the pig, staring blankly. Then he got out of bed and walked over to Raleigh, taking the beer from him but setting it to the side without drinking it. He turned his face down with one hand and kissed him hungrily, deeply, open-mouthed and slick.

Fuck Yancy, he thought. Mako was right, Raleigh wasn’t going to fuck this up over Yancy. Raleigh was -

Raleigh was so good, Jesus.

 

Raleigh was so fucking relieved he felt all of the tension leave his body. Chuck’s kiss was deep, eager, so full. Raleigh plunged his tongue back in Chuck’s mouth and wrapped a hand around his waist, pulling him closer, eager for contact.

He sighed as they continued to kiss, loved the feel of Chuck’s body against him. He could have kissed him like this all afternoon.

Max barked.

 

“Shh, Daddy’s busy,” Chuck said, but reluctantly disentangled himself from Raleigh all the same. “You get something extra for…” He looked in the bag.

Jesus, he felt like the Grinch, his heart swelling three sizes, too big for his chest.

“Holy shit,” he said quietly. _I am so, so fucked_ , he thought.

 

“I, uh, didn’t know what kind he would like?” Raleigh said. He wasn’t sure how to read Chuck’s expression. “I mean, Savory Lamb Dinner sounded pretty good, but Tender Steak Rhapsody…” he shrugged his shoulders. He’d got a chicken and turkey one, too, remembering that there were concerns about Max being fat.

 

Chuck shook his head - so touched that he was actually getting kind of choked up about it, which was incredibly embarrassing. He tackled Raleigh back onto the bed and straddled his waist, kissing him again. This time, though, it was messy and fun and easy, an outlet for the bubbly joy that made his chest feel fizzy and light.

“You’re absolutely mental, mate,” he said, grinning with his dimples carved deeply in his cheeks. “Don’t even know what to do with you.”

 

Raleigh couldn’t help but smile, even his stomach was settling down.

“Uh,” Raleigh said, Chuck straddled over him and grinning at him with those dimples. “I am not entirely sure what that means?”

 

“You’re just - ridiculous,” Chuck said. “You’re so nice that even _I_ can’t stay mad around you. You know how hard that is?” He leaned down, elbows on either side of Raleigh’s head, and nuzzled their noses together. “You’re so sweet you turn me sweet by proxy,” he whispered.

 

“Oh,” Raleigh said. He nuzzled back at Chuck and sighed, happy with his weight over him. “Well, I-” He was not entirely sure what to say to that so he just kissed Chuck, long and deep, tried to say what he wanted to say with the kiss. _I’m glad,_ he thought, _if you’re glad. I like you a lot._

 

Though he didn’t say anything, Chuck seemed to understand, from the way he smiled down at him with warm, soft eyes.

He climbed off and popped the top off the can of chicken dog food, dumping it into a rubber bowl he carried around in his backpack for long hiking trips when Max needed water. Max carried over his squeaky pig and laid it on the ground next to him while he ate, keeping one possessive paw on it while his face was buried in the food.

“What else did you get? You buy him a dog bed, also? Maybe some little mittens?” He pulled a bag of chips out of the grocery bag and opened it, eating a few and grinning impishly at Raleigh.

 

“A bone,” Raleigh said. “In case he gets bored with the pig, or…” He waved his hand, not entirely sure. But he was pleased to see that Max liked the pig, his paw resting over it as he ate up the chicken dog food. “And then some stuff for us, uh, if you’re hungry or whatever. And the beer…”

He smiled at Chuck - he looked happy, again, and Raleigh was glad. Fuck, it could have been...well, disaster averted.

Unless you were Tendo, because Raleigh had sort of hit him pretty hard. “And cigarettes. Just in case.”

 

Chuck laughed. “I only smoke when I drink, but if we’re downing a whole pack of grog, then yeah, those might come in handy.”

 

Raleigh had figured as much and shrugged his shoulders. “We don’t have to drink the uh, whole thing...it was just only two dollars more than the six pack, so I figured, you know, buy in bulk?”

 

“Good thinking,” Chuck said, laughing more. “I could probably drink a whole slab of ‘em by myself, anyway.” He set down the bag of chips and went to go grab a sandwich, but paused with his hand hovering over it. “Wanna go to a park now? Won’t take long to get our shit together.”

 

“Yeah, lets,” Raleigh said, glancing over at Max, who had the squeaky pig in his mouth and was just sort of daring either of them to grab at it. He shook his head. “Guess he likes the pig,” he said, and started to put things back into the grocery bags.

 

They packed efficiently, and soon had all their things tucked into their bags. Chuck studied the room. “I’m gonna remember this place,” he said, shooting a heated sidelong glance at Raleigh. “First and only place I’ve had a cock up my ass, so far.”

 

“Yeah,” Raleigh said, and he pressed his lips together. “Um, can I, uh, ask you something?” It was touchy, maybe, but he was curious - and Chuck had brought it up.

 

“Yeah?” Chuck said, checking the bathroom to make sure they’d gotten all their stuff out.

 

“Um, why me?” he asked. “You know, since you’ve…” he waved his hand. “Since you have, you know, slept with guys before.”

 

Chuck rubbed his jaw. “Well, there’s your cock size,” he said. “I don’t like to do things halfway.”

But he kept thinking past that. “And, uh, you let me tie you up and fuck you. Trusted me to take care of you. Seemed right to, um, return the favor.”

He blushed, ducking his head under the pretense of clipping Max’s leash on. “I reckon it’s ‘cause you didn’t ask, and didn’t, uh, expect, if that makes sense.”

 

“Yeah,” Raleigh said, and he smiled. “It does. I, uh...thanks.” He smiled at Chuck and then kissed him lightly on the lips before he opened the door to the hotel room. “I know what you mean, about expectations…”

 

“Probably more than I do,” Chuck said, smirking and looking down. “I could go either way, and if anything, people expect me to top, ‘cause I guess I’m aggressive like that. But you…” Cock like that, how could anyone expect Raleigh to _not_ top?

 

“Yeah,” Raleigh said, looking down, “just kind of assumed, I guess - and, I’m...well, liked doing it a lot more with you, definitely, so...you know, would do that again,” he grinned, feeling a little silly - like he was a teenager who gave his first blowjob, or something, “But, yeah, it would get a little…” He bit at his lower lip and got into the car.

 

Chuck herded Max into the backseat, where he seemed perfectly content to lie forever with his squeaky pig. Then he got in. “I’m happy both ways. Oh, plus,” he shot a toothy, predatory smile at Raleigh, “that’s another reason I hadn’t done it yet. Wanted to perfect my moves, get better, good enough to make blokes come without touching their cocks. How’d I manage, y’think?”

 

“Fuck,” Raleigh said. He swallowed, remembering how good that had been - spread out before Chuck, unable to move, Chuck thrusting into him. “Really well. Pretty amazing, actually,” he said, since Chuck had been open with him. “What I - it was really fucking good.” He glanced back at Max and the pig and his smile widened. Looks like he’d done well there.

 

Chuck followed his gaze, grinning at the sheer bliss on Max’s face as he gnawed on his new toy. “Max’d thank you, if he could. I’d do it for him, but we’re gonna be out in public again, and we’ve already talked about that.” He leaned over and nipped the shell of Raleigh’s ear. “Though you don’t seem to have such a big problem with it, as I recall.”

 

“Yeah, that whole decision sort of flew out the door,” Raleigh said, sighing as Chuck nipped at his ear. “Guess I couldn’t resist,” he added. “Been thinking about you all week…” He shook his head. A completely effective form of torture, seeing someone every day and not being able to even just lightly touch them, brush against them, kiss them.

 

Chuck thought about pointing out again that he wasn’t the tease who wandered around shirtless, and then paused. He’d spent enough time in the sun by now that he wasn’t dangerously pale, and he was tired of hearing people make fun of him for being wussy about the temperature, so - maybe that would change, now. Show Raleigh what a real tease was, since Raleigh seemed to like his shoulders and the fur on his chest so much.

“Yeah,” he said. “Well, hmm. I promise, I been thinkin’ bout you just as much. Or don’t you remember?” He smirked, because he hadn’t been making it up when he was talking with Raleigh’s dick in his ass. On multiple nights, he’d been moments from knocking on Raleigh’s window and getting him to come out and spend some quality time with him, away from the campers.

 

“Yeah,” Raleigh said, “much as I would love to - that is the easiest way to get fired, since Herc seems to have a sixth sense for that sort of stuff. And, much as I’d like to, I don’t really like the idea of getting illuminated in a deer spotting light while…though that is, apparently, the best job to get when the teenagers have socials. Yancy likes it.” Raleigh winced, slightly, bringing his brother into it.

 

Chuck didn’t allow himself to dwell on Yancy’s name, just laughed and leaned back. “Seems like you could have a lot of fun with that, although I think I’d be horrified by how young they are, ya kna?” He looked over at Raleigh. “Hey, when was your first time?”

 

“I know, right?” Raleigh said, and shook his head. When Yancy told him he had to tell his kids to stop getting blowjobs at camp socials, he had been appalled. Raleigh didn’t even know what a blowjob was when he was thirteen. “In what sense? Like, the first time penetration was involved, or..?”

 

Chuck shrugged. “Any or all of the above?” He drummed his fingers on the window.

 

“Well, let’s see,” Raleigh said. Chuck did seem to be interested in this. “I, um, kissed Julie Lassenby when I was sixteen, for the first time. She gave me a handjob, too. Um, and I got my first blowjob in college, and so that was eighteen. And I had sex at nineteen, um, first boyfriend, too. Kirk.” He nodded his head, pretty sure that was right.

 

Chuck frowned, thinking back to his own past. “That’s about - yeah, normal.” He kind of felt like a slut, in retrospect. His own experience was about three to four years earlier, and he’d had a lot more sex, so -

Yep. Slut.

 

“Are you...no, it’s not,” Raleigh said. “Pretty sure that’s a few years behind most people, and then, you know, once I got started...guess I felt like I had some ground I had to make up.” He raised his eyebrows and sighed. “In retrospect, that’s probably why...well.”

He turned the car left to head towards the park. “And it’s not like I didn’t want, before then, just…” He shrugged his shoulders.

 

Chuck nodded. “I think every gay or bi dude has a slut phase.” He ran his tongue over his teeth. “That wasn’t very politically correct, was it. But yeah, I fucked a few guys in the months after I, uh, _became sexually active_.” More than a few, but he wasn’t going to tell Raleigh how many.

 

“Right,” Raleigh said. “So, yeah, but even with that, I haven’t really…” he tried hard not to wince or press his lips together. Chuck seemed pretty satisfied with him, but...it wasn’t like he could really compare.

Then something occurred. _Gay or bi dude._ “So, you consider yourself, uh…”

 

Chuck looked over. “A slut?” he teased. “Yeah, a bit.” He looked out the window. “But yeah, I’m bi. I, uh, haven’t I talked about fucking girls?” He frowned. He could have sworn…

 

“You’re not a slut,” Raleigh said. He hated that term. “I could, uh, go on a rant about that but…” he waved his hand. “I sort of ended up with a women’s studies minor? Anyway - um, maybe? I didn’t really notice, probably because I was more concerned figuring out if you liked…” He looked over at Chuck and gave him a smile.

 

Chuck kind of smirked at him, because - Heh, he’d forgotten that Raleigh went to Amherst. Truth was, he was a slut, but he didn’t think of it as a bad thing. But liberal arts schools, with their gender and sexuality studies…

But he didn’t say that, just laughed. “S’funny you say that, when you let me do all the legwork. Your _brother_ did more work than you did, figuring out if I liked …”

 

“Well, I didn’t want to...that can be really awkward, you know?” Raleigh said. “Other people can afford to be more direct on your behalf.” He looked over at Chuck and considered this. “Or has that not been something you’ve had happen? ‘Cause I’ll admit to having _the_ worst ability to figure that out about someone.”

 

Chuck shrugged. “Majority of my gay sex encounters were Grindr hookups, so, not a big problem. And usually people hit on me first because I’m always the younger one between us. But I have a fairly adequate, uh… gaydar?” Raleigh probably had a problem with that word too.

 

“That’s useful,” Raleigh said. “Don’t know why I never...I don’t know if you develop it, or what, but…” He turned the car into the parking lot of the park and glanced back at Max, still quite content with his squeaky pig. “Girls ever give you shit about it?”

 

Chuck stepped out of the car. He looked down at Max, then sighed and scooped him up, making sure to get the pig with him, because it was easier and shorter than waiting for Max to move on his own.

“Bout what?” he said, slinging his backpack over his shoulder and getting one of the grocery bags.

 

“Sleeping with men,” Raleigh said. “Our diver, he’s bi, has some horror stories about girlfriends…” He grabbed the beer and the other grocery bag and then popped the trunk to get the blanket that he had stashed there. He had to grin at Chuck with Max under his arms like a football, Max holding onto the pig like it was the most important thing in the world.

 

“I don’t tell most girls, if I’m just picking them up,” Chuck admitted. “Feels like lying by omission sometimes, but… s’easier that way, you know? And my last girlfriend, she liked hearing about it. She always wanted me to talk to her during sex, tell her stories about me ‘n guys, sucking their cocks, that kinda stuff. I’d make up the dirtiest shit…” He smiled dreamily.

 

“Huh,” said Raleigh, and he nodded his head. “Anything you care to share with the class?” He shifted the twelve pack in his arms and headed towards a secluded spot he knew that should get some decent sun and have a patch of grass that Max could roll around in, since that seemed to be his primary leisure activity.

 

Chuck shook his head. “Hey, buddy, you’re the one who won’t give me any details about your past sexual encounters, you don’t get to hear about my first time 69ing, or that time my boyfriend bribed me to wear lingerie under my clothing for a day in exchange for a rimjob.” He didn’t know why he told that specific example to Raleigh, considering it was something he was extremely embarrassed about and tried to forget he’d ever done. Just seemed like something Raleigh would like, he supposed.

 

“What do you want to know?” Raleigh asked, setting the blanket down on the ground and sort of plopping on top of it. Max was happy to join him, scooting right next to him and plopping his pig on the ground. Raleigh took it and wiggled it in front of it so that Max pawed at it, grunting, and then finally tugged it out of his hands and happily chewed it. “You just asked when,” he said, cracking open a beer and handing it to Chuck.

 

“No, I mean that time I asked you during sex,” Chuck corrected. He accepted the beer with a smile and took a long swallow. “It’s one of my turn-ons. Not my biggest one, but I dunno, I like hearing about it.” He shrugged.

 

“Oh,” Raleigh said, and considered this. “OK. I’ll keep that in mind - just, I don’t know, I didn’t know...that was our first time, and I thought you - I don’t know, I guess I just figured you’d be disappointed.” He took a long sip of his beer.

 

Chuck laid back on the blanket, folded arms behind his head. “Whatever happened in your life to convince you you’re…” He swallowed. Nope, couldn’t do it. He’d already used up any and all capacity for emotional conversation that day. “You’re good at sex, okay? I swear, you are really, really good at sex. So stop -”

He sighed. Telling people to just get over their insecurities didn’t actually work, for some reason. “Just, you give good blowjobs, and you’re hot as hell when you’re on your back, and you fuck like an all-star, and now we’re done.”

 

Raleigh felt himself turn deep red, and then he nodded his head. “OK,” he said. “Thanks. I wasn’t, uh, looking for that, just answering your question, but...thanks.”

He didn’t press it - because he knew, really, where it all came from and he could tell that Chuck was totally done with any and all of that for today. “And I, uh, know I give good head.”

 

There were a couple responses Chuck could make to that, but he just turned his head and shot Raleigh a dark, dirty smile. “Yeah, you do,” he said.

Then he sat up and stripped off his shirt, balling it up behind his head. No time like the present to build up a base tan so he didn’t fry out on the water. He reached out and ran a lazy hand over Max’s head, smiling against as he watched him chew on his pig. “You did good,” he told Raleigh. “BFF now, I’m sure.”

 

“Oh, that’s...that is a good view,” Raleigh said, and pressed his lips together. Damnit. Chuck was just determined to… “I just picked it because it was pink and it said that it had several stimulating textures. Which sounded exciting?”

 

“Sounds like a dildo, is what it sounds like,” Chuck said, smirking. “Which is very Freudian of you, and I’m not sure I wanna analyze that one.”

 

“I don’t think so,” Raleigh said. “But...actually, all the dog toy descriptions sort of sounded like that.” Raleigh didn’t want to admit that he had read a lot of them. He reached over and grabbed the pig again, this time actually making Max get up to grab it back from him. Raleigh grinned at Max. “He is just the happiest little dude, isn’t he?”

 

“He is, but my old man’s gonna stab you in the face,” Chuck said, chuckling. “He hates ‘em, ‘cause Max doesn’t let it go, wanders around squeaking the damn thing. You can hear it from every room in the house. One time, I woke up at four in the morning and went downstairs and found Herc talking with Max about how many treats he would get him if he stopped squeaking the damn thing, like, supplying Max’s side of the conversation.”

 

“Oh, no,” Raleigh said, and for some reason, he could see it. “I bet it’s probably not ideal if he, uh, loses it, either…” He tilted his head and considered the pig in a new light, and then took the opportunity to linger on Chuck’s chest, the broad set of the muscles there and how it tapered into his waist.

 

Chuck nodded. Then he laughed outright, turning on his side to look at Raleigh. “Did you really say ‘not next to a lake?’ when he told you I’ve had hot dogs before? Jesus, Rals, he thinks I’m dating a nimrod. I’m gonna have to do crazy damage control now.” He shook his head.

 

“Uh.” Raleigh winced and nodded his head. “I just...you know, figured you’d had hotdogs at like a camp fire but maybe not at a, like, hotdog stand I don’t know…” He shook his head. “To be fair, though, I am pretty sure Herc already thought I was a little…”

 

“Nah, he loves you, no worries,” Chuck said, taking another swig. “S’hard not to, you fuckin’ puppy.” He reached over and rubbed Raleigh behind the ears, exactly the same way he had with Max before.

 

“That’s never going to get old, is it?” Raleigh asked. He finished his beer and cracked open another, then grabbed a sandwich. Max looked up at him immediately. “No. Squeak your pig.”

 

Chuck looked up. “I thought you were talking to me,” he said, confused. “Couldn’t figure out what kind of fucked-up euphemism you were going for.”

 

Raleigh blinked and then decided it was best if he didn’t pursue that question either. Then he tugged his own shirt off, starting to get hot in the sun. The lake actually looked pretty inviting - maybe, he thought, he could coax Chuck in. He stretched his arms behind his head and then took a bite from his sandwich.

“This is nice,” he said.

 

“Yeah,” Chuck agreed, eyeing Raleigh’s abs. He needed to do more crunches, he decided. Or swimming, if that was really Raleigh’s trick. He smiled, eyes closed.

He could happily stay there forever.

 

* * *

 

Raleigh inhaled, and then exhaled. He and Chuck had purposefully stayed out, alone, not going down to the bonfire with everyone and checking in at the last minute. He had glimpsed Tendo at breakfast, enough to know Raleigh had given him a black eye, which - not good. At all.

He clutched at his _sorry I punched your face_ candy and inhaled as he walked down to the shack where the lifeguards gathered before their lessons. “Uh, Tendo,” he said, and then nodded outside. “If that’s OK?”

 

Tendo’s smile at his conversation with some of his campers faded, and he eyed Raleigh warily. “Yeah, okay,” he said, following Raleigh out.

His eye was still dark and bruised right at the corner, and his eyelid was swollen slightly shut, lending his suspicious look at Raleigh a strange, lopsided quality.

 

“So,” he said, and held the Reese Cups out in front of him as a peace offering. “I need to apologize. I mean, I am apologizing. I really should not have hit you.” He sighed. “Actually I’ve never done that...well, no, there was that once. So I usually don’t...I’m gonna stop, now.”

 

Tendo accepted the candy with a slight smile. Unlike Baby Hansen, he wasn’t one to hold a grudge. “Yeah, I know. We’ve been friends for years, man.” He fidgeted with the plastic corners of the packaging. “So, do I have permission to express concern, or are you gonna pop me in the face again?” His smiled turned wry.

 

“No, go ahead,” Raleigh said. “Like you said, we’ve been friends for years. It was more just...you know, I had no idea what happened and was...anyway.”

 

“No, I, uh, actually I get it,” Tendo said. “You really like him. I mean, you _really_ like him.” He shot Raleigh a meaningful look, trying to communicate a lot with just the glance.

 

“Um, yeah - what do you mean by that?” Raleigh asked. He could tell Tendo was attempting to use some form of non-verbal communication, but he had no clue. “C’mon, you know I’m not good at...just spell it out.”

 

Tendo sighed. Oh, Raleigh. “You’re pretty obsessed with him, Rals. I’m not gonna say ‘in love,’ but only because I think one of you should say it first. And - don’t punch me for this - is it really a good idea to go that crazy over someone who has already stated he’s breaking up with you in two months? You punched me in the fucking face for him. This isn’t just - puppy love.”

 

Raleigh sighed. “I know,” he said. “But it’s not like - I can’t temper how I feel, you know, and I know I’m fucked, but…” He shrugged his shoulders. “Everyone I’ve dated, it’s always been so, so shit. So I figure I should enjoy this, you know?” He pressed his lips together, because while Chuck hadn’t out and out said it - he knew. Or maybe Chuck had and he’d just tried to ignore it, but if Tendo had picked up on it. Didn’t matter. It was too late for that to be a factor anyway.

 

“Well,” Tendo said, shaking his head, because yep, it was way too fucking late. “As long as you’re enjoying yourself.” His smile softened. “Which is still a little baffling to me, but any idiot can tell how much you like being with him.”

 

“Oh,” Raleigh said, and he wasn’t sure why, but it made him look down at his feet. “I don’t know. He’s…” He didn’t really know how to describe Chuck. “Yeah. I’m sure you’re not the only one who is baffled.”

 

Tendo may have teased more, but he thought this wasn’t the time, not after getting cold-cocked in the face. He punched Raleigh’s shoulder. “Hey, I mean - Baby Hansen’s clearly good company to people he thinks are worth it. Just because he’s not exactly sweet to me and Yance doesn’t mean he doesn’t know how. I bet, uh…” He took a deep breath. “I bet he’s a good boyfriend,” he said.

 

“Yeah,” Raleigh said. “Bit of a temper, but…” Not like Raleigh didn’t know what he was getting into with that. “But, yeah, definitely. We had a really good time yesterday, after…” He nodded his head.

 

“And before,” Tendo added with a smirk, because he couldn’t help himself. But come on, was he really expected to resist?

 

“Uh,” Raleigh said. “That was also very good.” He nodded his head, cognizant of how Chuck had gone off over the thought of him sharing details with Tendo and Yancy. “That’s definitely been very good.”

 

“Good,” Tendo said, and let it go there. He knew as well as Raleigh how angry Chuck had gotten. Then he chewed his lip. “You, uh, you do know that was more about Yancy than it was about me, though, right?”

Okay, so he hadn’t actually come up with that on his own. But once Mako had said it, he knew she was right. Chuck hadn’t freaked out over Tendo, Tendo wasn’t the problem.

Yancy was.

 

“That’s what I don’t get, though,” Raleigh said. “I mean...you were the one that made the comment and Yancy wasn’t even in the room at the time - any of the times.” What had Yancy been doing, anyway? Raleigh shook his head. That was a completely different question. “Or do you just mean Yancy, generally?”

 

“Yancy, generally,” Tendo said. “And, for that time, I’m pretty sure he assumed you’d told Yancy and Yancy had told me - about not using condoms, I mean. But yeah, Yancy generally.” He shrugged. “I dunno man, you should talk to Mako, apparently he, like, way opened up to her.”

 

“That’s so…” Raleigh shook his head. “I’m not going to play that game - Mako is his friend, and that was probably...besides, it’s not hard to figure out. He’s concerned Yancy doesn’t like him, thinks that’s he’s going to...I mean, that I don’t know, but. I don’t get it. Yancy’s been a bit of a dickhead, but not any more than usual.”

 

“I think usually, uh, he isn’t a dickhead to people who are trying to date you,” Tendo said uncertainly. “I dunno, how dickish is he usually to your boyfriends? He’s pretty protective, man.”

 

“Uh…” Raleigh considered this. “Fairly dickish. But he was generally right about them.” Raleigh furrowed his brow, considering something. “He is really protective, but of course he is. I mean…” He swallowed, not wanting to really think about it.

 

“Which changes the perspective from your end, but doesn’t actually make it any easier for him to handle,” Tendo pointed out. “I mean, you gotta figure - your boyfriend’s brother is kind of an ass to you from the first time you meet him, not a great sign. I don’t think Chuck took it too seriously until he started dating you and Yancy’s attitude didn’t change.”

 

“Didn’t it?” Raleigh asked. “I mean, he’s been better - and they barely even interacted yesterday, and…I mean, part of me wonders if, I don’t know. On the other hand, I’ve never really seen the two of them together, so.”

 

Tendo snorted. “Honestly, I think Chuck’s talking shit, because he’s been just as much of a dick back. Also, I think he consciously knows that things are getting better between them, so…” He shrugged. “He and Yancy get along fine, at this point. But that’s different from Yancy actually _liking_ him.”

 

“Oh,” Raleigh said. “Yeah.” He glanced over towards the arts and crafts shack and grimaced. “But that means he has to get know him, which means they have to - and then they’ll just be dickheads to each other, and…” He shook his head. “Uh, isn’t it enough I like him?”

 

Tendo shrugged again. “Uh, I’d make a parallel with Herc, but I think it’s different because he and Chuck don’t exactly get along. It’s like… What if Mako didn’t like you, and thought you were bad for Chuck? And sure she doesn’t say that straight out to either of you, but every time she looks at you, you, uh, know that she’s wishing you were someone else?”

He winced. Ooh, that might have been revealing a bit much of what Mako had told him after Raleigh had punched him as an explanation for Chuck’s overreaction. Whoops.

 

“Oh that’s…” Raleigh tried to gather his thoughts. “That’s not great. But who else is he supposed to be? There’s no one else that’s better…” He figured Yancy’s big concern was the summer-fling stamp Chuck had put on the relationship, and that Yancy was going to the one picking up the pieces again. “I’m a sort of grown-up, I can handle things.”

 

Well, too late now. In for a penny, in for a pound, Tendo thought. He shrugged. “I don’t think, uh… I mean, to keep the Mako parallel going, it’s not that she thinks you should be anyone else in particular. It’s just that she’s wishing you’re not… you.” He shuffled his feet. “Or, uh, that could be what’s going on in his head. Who knows, man, Baby Hansen’s nuts.”

 

“Oh,” Raleigh said. It took him a moment, but, well, it made sense. “Right.” So Yancy was just a stand in for Chuck’s insecurities, whatever those might be. “That’s...well, that’s good to know,” he said. And how hadn’t he figured that out? He was such an idiot.

 

“Yep,” Tendo said. “But if Mako or Chuck asks, I didn’t say any of that.” He winced at the idea of what they would do to him.

 

“Of course,” Raleigh said. “Sorry I punched you and you had to…” He waved his hand. “Mushy stuff. Man, Mako deserves to get laid for all of this. Or something. Maybe also you.”

 

“I don’t think Mako needs your permission to get laid, man,” Tendo said. He waggled his eyebrows. From what he heard, Mako did just fine on her own.

 

“Wait, she…” Raleigh raised his eyebrows. “One, no, of course not, I just thought, if I could help - but she...with who?” Please don’t be Yancy, he thought. He would even accept the answer of _not Yancy._

 

“Dude, I know I’ve known ‘em for years, but -” Tendo dropped his voice. “One of the Weis? I still can’t tell them apart. Maybe two of them?”

 

“I can’t either,” Raleigh confided back. “But I think it’s because they want it that way. Makes it harder to…”

 

“Yeah, so him, or them, or whatever.” Tendo smirked. “And Yancy.” Total lie, but he knew the idea would freak Raleigh out.

 

Raleigh’s face fell and he drew his lips into a long, anguished expression. “Oh, Mako, why?”

 

“Wow, that’s cold,” Tendo said, eyes widening. “She’s not actually, but I’m totally telling Yancy what a let-down you think he is.”

 

“Dude,” Raleigh said. “He is not a let-down. He is just…” He didn’t even know how to communicate this. “She is my friend and he is my brother, and…” He shook his head.

 

Tendo laughed. “I get it,” he said, clapping Raleigh’s shoulder. “Anyway, I think they’ll warm up to each other with time. Only got smooth sailing ahead of you. Except for, uh, the end of the summer, but don’t think about that.”

 

“Right,” Raleigh said, and watched as Tendo walked off with the Reese Cups. _Yeah, right._


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mentions of underage sex.

For once, Chuck almost didn’t mind chaperoning a bunch of hormonal, idiot children. Because at least this one was outside on the fields, out under the stars and with Christmas lights twinkling on the trees around them. And he had Max to entertain him, squeaky pig accompanying him (as always).

He saw Yancy sitting perched on the fence watching the dancers, and sighed internally. Then he went to grab something from Herc’s cabin, just nearby, before joining Yancy up on the fence.

“Cherry or lemon-lime?” he asked, holding out two popsicles.

 

“You’re a life saver,” Yancy said. “Doesn’t matter - you have a preference?” He slid down off the fence and smiled at Chuck, then reached down and pet Max’s head.

 

Cherry took the cherry one for himself and passed Yancy the lemon-lime. “So, uh… You don’t have your floodlight yet,” he said as a conversation starter.

 

“Patience, Hansen,” Yancy said, sliding the wrapper off and putting it in his pocket. “The night is young, and they know we’re still paying attention. You need to wait about another half hour, and then…” He grinned, thinking about it. “I should not get so much joy out of doing that to them, but it is always hilarious.”

 

Chuck made a face. “I’ll have fun with it until there’s actual nudity. That’s just…” He thought of something suddenly. “Oi, this might be a bit personal, but - when was your first time? Whatever definition you want.”

 

“Oh, shit,” Yancy said. “I fucked Deana Tate at fifteen? Mostly fifteen. Didn’t get a blow job until I was sixteen, though.” He shook his head. “Wasn’t too much to do in Alaska, though.”

 

“Then what the fuck happened to Raleigh?” Chuck said, sucking on the tip of his popsicle. He narrowed his eyes. He had this theory… “Did he used to be fat?”

 

Yancy’s eyes widened and he turned and looked at Chuck. “Did he tell you that?” he asked.

 

Chuck laughed. “No, but no one with abs like that and a face like that and a dick like _that_ is so insecure about his looks unless he used to be a right fatty.” He smirked. “Should I take that as confirmation?”

 

“I am not telling you any of this,” Yancy said, and he widened his eyes. “Understood?”

 

“Got it,” Chuck said, grinning. He nudged his shoulder up against Yancy’s. “So you got started early too, then. Do straight people have slut phases to, or…?”

 

“All people have slut phases,” Yancy said. “Mine was in college, I think. Look - Raleigh was really chubby. Like…” He shook his head. “We were living with this couple and she just took pity on him, and he pretty much ate his feelings for a few years. And he was gay. I mean, I knew he was. But then he started swimming when he was sixteen, and…” He shook his head. “Well, you know.”

 

“Yeah,” Chuck said, thinking about Raleigh’s abs with no small fondness. Then he looked over at Yancy. “I’m not gonna mock him for being fat, you know. Plenty better things to rag on him for.”

 

“Don’t I know it,” Yancy said. “It’s just...it’s not just that he was fat, it’s what it was all tied up in, you know?”

 

Chuck looked down at his popsicle, watching as errant droplets melted over his knuckles. “Yeah, I know. But, uh, Rals hasn’t talked to me about it. My old man did, Mako has, and you have now, but - I don’t wanna hear it from anyone but him.” He winced. Fuck, that was cheesy.

 

“Oh,” Yancy said. “I didn’t realize. That doesn’t surprise me - well, that’s…” He smiled and nodded his head at Chuck. “Just don’t expect it to just come out, you know?”

 

Chuck understood that better than anyone, what with the death of his own mother, and all. He’d talk about it if Raleigh asked, but he’d never offer in a million years. He nodded. “When he wants to talk, I’ll listen. But I… Leave room for Jesus, you horny little - sproglings,” he hollered at a particularly closer couple.

 

“That’s really, uh…” Yancy pressed his lips together, not really expecting that from Chuck Hansen. More koala and less angry, it seemed. “Also that was Waxman, and he is totally Jewish.”

 

“I have a list of words I’m not allowed to use around the children. Like, an actual printed out list,” Chuck said glumly. “Fucking shitty little bastards. They can leave room for, uh, Moses too, I’m not picky.”

 

“Yeah, well, that does not surprise me,” Yancy said. “Mine especially, you would not believe how many socks I am missing and it’s just been two weeks in.” He shook his head and was about to say something else until he saw two of his special little campers approaching. “Bailey, Tom, how are you this evening? No special ladies you want to dance with?”

Both of them looked at each other, apparently telepathically daring one another over who was going to be the one to start talking. “No,” said Bailey, and he looked over to Tom.

“Have you met Chuck, by the way? Down at kayaking?” Both of them looked at Chuck with something bordering on fear and pity.

“We need advice about girls,” Tom blurted out.

Yancy looked over at Chuck and smiled.

 

Chuck narrowed his eyes, catching the look. Then he smiled, wide and toothy, at their dilemma. “Don’t tell ‘em they look better without makeup, don’t ask if they’re PMSing when they’re mad, listen to what they have to say, and don’t be too much of a pussy to ask ‘em to dance just because they’re surrounded by friends. Oh, and any girl that demands flowers and poetry isn’t worth your time in the first place.”

 

“That is all incredibly useful, thanks, Chuck,” Yancy said. He leaned down. “Look, it’s summer camp. What’s the worse that happens? They’re all waiting for you to ask them to dance, trust me.”

Both kids looked incredulously at both of them.

Yancy sighed. “More cologne,” he said. “I know one of you has some Axe in your pockets, go, go.” They scattered and he shook his head at Chuck. “They can’t handle the truth,” he said.

 

Chuck whooped his amusement, slapping his thigh. “Clearly, sabotage is the only answer.” He shook his head, still chuckling. “Shit, man, can’t believe I was getting laid at their age. Awkward little fucks, aren’t they?”

 

“Tell me about it,” Yancy said, and he pointed over towards a tree, where Tom and Bailey were eagerly spraying themselves with Axe. “I knew it. By the way, was pussy on that list of words?”

 

“Yes, but I took poetic license because I was using it as a synonym for wuss rather than vagina,” Chuck said. He leaned back against the fence. “Fuck, what I’d do for a beer right now.”

 

“Just the two I was looking for,” said Herc, approaching, as always, from the shadows. “Well, mostly you, Becket. You going to teach my son all of your secrets?” He thrust a deer spotting light at Yancy and grinned at both of them.

“Sure, why not,” Yancy said. “Want to go for a walk, Chuck?”

 

“Aw, fuck yeah,” Chuck said, straightening up with new light in his eyes. “If I’m not getting laid in this godforsaken hellhole, no one is.”

 

“That’s the spirit,” Herc said, and slapped Yancy on the back, indicating he was well aware that Chuck was getting laid outside of the hellhole.

“All right,” Yancy said. “Standard loop - they always go for the same spots, even though we know about them...first stop, over the bump, around the corner...wait for it, and then flash them when you see them there.” He stepped back, letting Chuck approach to see if there were a couple present.

 

Chuck cued for Max to go ahead, and crept after him, soft on the balls of his feet. Then there was a shriek of surprise as Max apparently took it as his divine obligation to crawl all over the couple and lick their faces.

Chuck just laughed. “Max,” he called. “Ruining our fun, boy.” He whistled, and Max trotted proudly over, pig in mouth, head held high.

He turned to Yancy. “He’ll do better next time.”

 

“No way,” Yancy said. “I mean, the goal is to break up the little shits, so, good boy, Max,” he said, and pet his head. “Uh...what’s with the pig?”

 

Chuck looked down at Max, surprised, mostly because it had become such a familiar sight that it didn’t even draw his attention anymore. “Uh, Rals got it for him, trying to buy back my affection ‘cause I was - anyway, basically a bribe. Max is into it, though.”

 

“Yeah, I don’t think I’ve seen him without it for a few days,” Yancy said. He shrugged. “OK, let’s do the circuit - Max, try not squeak the pig too much, yeah? Ruins the element of surprise.”

 

“Oh, I’ve actually trained him for -” Chuck decided to just show Yancy, and lifted his finger to his lips in the universal signal for quiet. Obligingly, Max lowered himself down to a squat, picking his way carefully along the ground. He held his squeaky toy between his teeth instead of gnawing on it.

“He’s smarter than people give him credit for,” Chuck whispered. “Knows a lot of tricks, but I don’t usually tell anyone. It’s the Max secret menu.”

 

Yancy nodded his head, glad that it was dark outside so that Chuck couldn’t see the massive grin on his face - because this was adorable. He could just see Chuck training Max, working carefully with him… “That’s really good,” he whispered back. “He is going to be a real asset.”

He crept along the trail that rung the social sight, then nodded his head off towards the path that led down to the waterfront. “The Adirondack chairs,” he said. “Usually behind them.”

 

Chuck followed him. “Your turn, mate. We can switch off.” He could hear the amusement in Yancy’s voice, but he wasn’t offended, mostly because Max was freakin’ awesome and deserved appreciation for it, but also kind of - Well, he got why people thought Max was cute and worthy of cuddles and coos.

 

Yancy nodded and turned his head, listening for the distinctive sounds of awkward teenage fumbling. He crept forward, getting the deer light ready. He smiled, slightly, and then flicked the light on.

“The fuck!” said the girl, who Yancy didn’t know.

“Aw, come on,” said Waxman, who apparently had not listened to Chuck.

They were both frozen, his hands on her breasts, and he looked like it was going to take some actual prompting for him to let them go.

 

“They need Jesus, seriously,” Chuck said, shaking his head, and then added, “Or Moses, shit, whatever.”

He pointed at them to Max, and said, “Hey buddy, go make some new friends, okay?” Max obediently trotted over, leaving his pig with Chuck, and started slobbering all over them.

Chuck knew unfortunately well what a mood-killer Max was. Mid-blowjob, looking up and seeing those curious eyes from across the room… Ennngh.

 

“Oh, he’s soo cute!” said the girl, grinning and immediately petting Max like nothing had happened.

“Waxman, I expected more from you,” Yancy said. “I found you here last year, didn’t I?” The kid sighed and nodded. It was almost like they wanted to get caught. “Come on, get up, hands off - or do you need to go and get The Talk from Herc?”

Waxman shook his head no, quickly, and immediately fumbled and stood up. The girl seemed reluctant to leave Max but eventually rolled her eyes and stood.

“Go on, scoot,” Yancy said.

 

Chuck laughed. “Getting The Talk from Herc isn’t actually so bad. Mostly he just turns various shades of red and tries really hard to say the words anal and fellatio without his voice cracking.” Spoiler alert - it didn’t work.

 

“Ah,” Yancy said, as the kids ran back towards the social sight. “Apparently it’s really terrible when you’re not his kid. I had one kid come back, last year, and when I asked what they talked about he just went white and shook his head.”

He handed the deer spotting light to Chuck. “Down at the waterfront, they like to go in the swim shack.”

 

Chuck took it and motioned for Max to lead the way, which he did with great pomp and circumstance. “Yeah, he’s better at communicating with other people. Less pressure for him, doesn’t psych himself out so much.” It had taken Chuck a very long time to accept this as a failing on Herc’s part rather than his own, but this wasn’t the time for that discussion. Hell, there was literally no time when Chuck wanted to have that discussion.

At the swim shack, Chuck padded silently up to the door, then flung it open and swept the beam of light around inside.

The couple was on the bean bag chair the counselors always fought over rights to, and went dead still at the sight of him.

“Oi, you little wankers,” Chuck said, “I am not a T-Rex. Freezing does not make you invisible. Get the hell out of here.” He shook his head.

 

“Well done,” Yancy said, and leaned over and scrunched Max’s ears as he barked happily at the new friends that he had discovered. They still weren’t moving.

“Honestly, get back to the social,” he said. “We know all of your hiding places - you are never going to get to second base.” He grinned at them, and they finally huffed and walked past him and Chuck.

“You guys suck,” said the girl camper.

 

Chuck made a face as they passed him. “Christ, how old were those two?’ he said in an undertone to Yancy. “Can’t have been more than 13. That’s just…”

 

“Thirteen,” Yancy said. “C’mon, you weren’t off sucking face somewhere at thirteen?” He raised an eyebrow.

 

Chuck rubbed his jaw, thinking about this. “Yeah, I guess… Did I really look that small, though?” He pursed his lips. “First blowjob at 14, and thinking about it, that’s a little -” He couldn’t seem to come up with a descriptor word, but yeah, that was a little gross.

 

Yancy shrugged his shoulders. “It’s natural, you know? Hormones raging, you’ve got a boner every time you turn around...just, you know, don’t sneak off and make out at summer camp, asswads. Parents are paying us a lot of money to make sure they don’t do anything stupid all summer.”

 

Chuck nodded. “One of my programs - NOLS, summer-long backpacking trip through Wyoming - they had to fly in a helicopter and airlift this girl out ‘cause she got pregnant or something from some guy on the trip. Mostly I was impressed at how they’d pulled it off without anyone knowing, we didn’t have a lot of privacy in those tents and it got fuckin’ cold at night, I figure his dick woulda fallen off if they’d fucked outside.” Idiots.

 

“Yeah, Mako said there was a girl last year who had a pregnancy scare…” Yancy shook his head. “Not sure if it was from here, or before she got here, though.” He considered what Chuck said. “Wouldn’t his dick be, uh, in a relatively warm place, though?”

He started walking towards the next spot on the loop, taking the spot light back from Chuck as Max walked alongside him, clearly picking up from the way he crept along that they were stalking prey.

 

“Yeah, but it’s not like it spends the whole time in, and it’d be, uh, wet, and clearly there was no condom for insulation…” Chuck shrugged. It’d take conversation a lot more explicit than that for him to get shy about it. “I just don’t think I could even get it up in sub-zero temperatures, so props to him.”

 

“Agreed,” Yancy said. “Though…no, I was always clothed for that part of things. Spent a lot of time in cars, which was cold, but not…” He shrugged his shoulders and pointed towards the next sight on their route, a nook in the woods that he was convinced had largely been created by campers who just followed the same well trod path.

He handed the light over to Chuck as Max began to sniff the ground.

 

Chuck gave a wry chuckle. “Guess that’s one benefit to Herc not being home most weekends. I got a lot of practice in beds and couches and kitchen counters and showers, kinda like having my own bachelor pad. Alright Max, go hunt, boy.” He nudged Max forward.

 

Yancy nodded. “Yeah, see, that was why I say my slut phase was in college. I feel bad for my roommate, actually, but…” He shrugged his shoulders. He’d always been good and tied a sock to the door - and never locked the kid out for the whole night.

Max sniffed into the nook and then trod back out, disappointed that he hadn’t found anyone. “S’ok, buddy,” Yancy said. “Usually there are a few empty spots…”

 

Chuck groaned. “Fuck, I didn’t even think about that. First time I’ve ever had to share a room, perks of being an only child. Hope my roommate’s okay with being sexiled. Although, MIT kids, he’s probably gonna be doing problem sets every night until two in the morning.”

 

“You just have to come up with clear signals, you know? Sock on the door, whatever, and just try not to sexile them for an overnight, because that sucks. Tendo slept in the lounge so many nights freshman year - it was how I met him, actually…” Yancy shook his head.

They had almost finished their loop with just two more stops to make. He led them down towards the other side of waterfront for the boat dock. Most romantic, under the stars, on the dock.

 

Chuck nodded. Then he realized something. “Choi goes to Amherst with you? Wouldn’t have guessed it.” Then again, he wouldn’t have pinned the Beckets going to Amherst in the first place.

Maybe he had a poor idea of what Amherst was like.

 

“Yeah,” Yancy said. “Never would guess it, I know - people are serious there about academics, but generally pretty relaxed. Loads of rich kids with trust funds...but we’ve got a pretty diverse group of friends. You want to do this one since you struck out with the last one?”

 

Sounded like every other liberal arts school Chuck had applied to. He’d ended up deciding between MIT and UChicago at the end, and obviously MIT had won out. Apparently liberal arts hadn’t been a draw for Chuck.

“Nah, you can take it,” Chuck said. “Max’ll help you out.” He scratched the scruff of Max’s neck.

 

“Go Max Go,” Yancy said, and grinned as Max trotted off - and then actually picked up speed as he head towards the dock. “Max?”

Yancy turned the spotlight on and then grinned. “Hey guys, sorry,” he said, as Sasha bent down to scratch Max’s head and Aleksis shook his head at them. “Looking for horny teenagers.”

 

“You’re terrible role models,” Chuck said, grinning. “Gonna make the kids think its okay to sneak off and recite awful love poetry at the docks.”

Sasha smirked at him over Max’s head. “Yes, and you and Raleigh, goopy eyes, always staring - very good influence, hm?”

Chuck flushed pink. “We’re not goopy,” he muttered.

 

“Raleigh kind of gets goopy eyes,” Yancy said. “I’ve caught him, at least.”

Sasha nodded her head and then considered the deer spotting light. “You have more stops left? I would like to see this.” Yancy grinned back at her.

“I will go back,” Aleksis said, cupping her ass and then lumbering down the dock.

 

“You and Mako can do a loop by yourselves, I’m sure the little fucks just went right back as soon as me and Yance left,” Chuck said, stretching.

 

“Good idea,” Yancy said. “Two of the most terrifying girls counselors - maybe someone will pee themselves.”

Sasha cocked her head slightly and then shook it. “Sadistic Becket,” she said. “Maybe think about why you work at summer camp?” They followed Aleksis back to the social sight to locate Mako and pass off the deer spotting light.

 

Chuck spotted Raleigh across the campsite and thought about walking over, but - well, for one thing, this was Yancy time. Making an effort, and all.

And also… He did not have goopy eyes, thanks.

He leaned up against the same fence where they’d started and looked at Yancy. “So what’s your degree, then? Rals is in history…”

 

“English,” Yancy said. “And Art History.” He looked at Chuck, trying to gauge his reaction.

 

“Oh, uh,” Chuck said, blinking. “I have literally no conversation to contribute to that subject.”

Shockingly, art was not his area of interest. His art ability was limited to technical diagrams, all compasses and perfect lines.

He shrugged. “I went to Amsterdam once? Rembrandt, he was cool.”

 

“Yeah,” Yancy said. “So you’ve never done any, like, history of architecture? They make you take anything like that?” He was a little surprised - usually architects had some inclination towards fine arts, but apparently not.

 

“I haven’t actually been to uni yet, remember?” Chuck said, hopping up onto the fence. He tossed Max his squeaky pig, having picked it up where Max dropped it by the dock. “I interned for an architect last summer, he was great, gave me a lot of hands-on experience. And I’ve read books on it, so I know it’s what I wanna do. But yeah, haven’t actually taken any classes on it. I assume I’ll have to do history of it at some point.” He shrugged.

Apparently Yancy had forgotten how young he was, and that he was going into his first year come September. That was actually kind of nice.

 

“Yeah, completely...sorry, you just seem older,” Yancy said, and he scratched the back of his neck. “It’s good that you interned, though. Know what you’re, uh, getting into. Would be nice to know what I want to be when I grow up.”

He hopped up on the fence next to Chuck and scanned the social, making sure that none of his campers were getting up to anything salacious or scandalous.

 

“Yeah, uh, but actually, what do you do with a BA in English?” Chuck asked, trying to sound curious and not condescending.

 

Yancy figured Chuck probably did not have a familiarity with Avenue Q, so he did not sing to him. “Well, there’s law school, but…” He shook his head. “PhD, and, uh, standard career in evil - we have recruiters come from the consulting firms, investment banks, that kind of thing. I’m thinking of-” he paused, because it felt a little weird to be talking about his life plans with Chuck Hansen- “I’m thinking about doing Historical Preservation? Did an internship at a museum in Boston during last semester, so..” He shrugged, like it was not a big thing.

 

Chuck nodded. “I think you gotta do what makes you feel good about yourself. I mean, could you actually be happy doing investment banking? Architecture may not be saving the world, but, hey, it’s not marketing for cigarettes either. I think urban planning might be my focus, anyway. Could do some good shit there.”

This was abruptly heavy conversation, and he coughed. “Anyway, uh, cool.”

 

“Ha, yeah,” Yancy said, and then he sniffed. A cloud of Axe was heading their way. “Brace yourself,” he said, as Bailey, Tom, and another kid approached, younger, maybe one of Chuck’s. “Gentlemen,” he said. “Now what’s wrong.”

“Girls suck,” said Bailey.

 

“Wait, you’re telling me that didn’t work?” Chuck said, wide-eyed and innocent. “Well, I never.”

 

“They said that we weren’t cool,” Tom said, almost sadly.

“Everyone is getting blow jobs!” Bailey said, and then widened his eyes, realizing this might not be an appropriate topic of conversation with his counselors.

 

“Well, you know,” Chuck said with a smirk, looking back and forth between them. And then thought, nah, Herc would skin him alive if he found out Chuck was advocating underage gay sex between campers.

 

“Don’t worry about it,” Yancy said, using his sincere voice. “You really want to get a blowjob out in the woods, or in-” he stopped, not wanting to reveal the hiding spots, “-some outhouse?”

“Yeah,” said Tom, who looked at Bailey.

“OK, well, more likely than not, you’re going to get caught, and you know what that means. You want to make that phone call home?”

The kids looked at each other, then, for some reason, looked at Chuck.

 

Chuck looked to Yancy for help, baffled. “Oi, what are you looking at me for?”

 

“Well, don’t you get a lot of girls?” Bailey asked.

“All the girls talk about how hot you are,” Tom added. “So…”

Yancy looked a bit offended. “They don’t talk about-”

“Naw, man,” said Bailey.

 

Chuck very carefully did not laugh, because he was trying to win points with Raleigh’s brother and he thought he’d been making progress. “I’m closer in age,” he said with a shrug. By this point, Yancy was close to 10 years older than they were, which was a sizable gap when you were 14. But Chuck was barely out of high school himself - much more accessible.

 

“So what do we do?” Bailey asked.

Tom narrowed his eyes at Yancy. “The Axe did not work.” Yancy raised his hands in the air, like he had nothing to do with that.

“So what do we do?” Bailey repeated, looking at Chuck.

 

Chuck’s gaze darted between them and Yancy. He felt a little cornered, and besides, there was probably some faux pas about bragging about sexual conquests in front of your boyfriend’s brother.

“Uh,” he said. “I mean, it actually does depend on the specific girl. Girls aren’t like, some monolithic cult that all fall for the same lines. And it depends also if you’re trying to make something of it, or if you’re just looking to score some pussy.”

Okay, that one was definitely breaking the rules of Chuck’s list. Whoops.

 

The kids considered this and then nodded their heads. “Definitely want pussy,” said Bailey.

 _Oh god,_ Yancy thought. “OK, let’s take a step back-”

“We’re not gay,” said Tom, emphatically.

 _And there it is,_ Yancy thought. “Right, sure, but…” He wasn’t even sure what to say to that, because, in his experience, that assertion didn’t just come out of the blue.

 

Chuck set his face down in his hands, struggling to muffle his laughter, though his shoulders were shaking. He felt that he had probably hurt his cause there, but he couldn’t help it, this was too fucking hilarious.

“Okay, yeah, let’s back off the pussy train for a minute,” Chuck said. Maybe he should actually start helping Yancy instead of just laughing at their distress. “Wingmen help. Not like, talking you up, but just - groups are a good trick. Get a bunch of friends together, all having fun, then kind of start to single in on the girl. Make her feel important, like she’s the only thing that matters even with all the, uh, stuff happening around. Then ask if you’re reading the situation correctly - it’s a good tactic because it gives her the opportunity to turn you down without making it a big thing. And if she says yeah, then kiss her - slow, no fucking tongue, don’t be that guy. And if she says no, you back the fuck off, because, again, don’t be that guy.” He narrowed his eyes. “And really? Blowjobs in an outhouse? _Do not be that guy_.”

 

“Wow,” said Bailey. Tom nodded his head, and both of them looked at Chuck with wide eyes.

“Thanks, Chuck,” said Tom. They both walked off, talking eagerly do each other.

Yancy laughed, he couldn’t help it. Then he grinned at Chuck. “You are done for, now, you know, right?”

 

Chuck, smiling after them, looked at him in confusion. “Huh? What’s that mean?”

 

“You are going to be, like, the go-to love guru for all of them now,” Yancy waved his hand. “Especially if those two succeed - they’ll tell all their friends you were the one who gave them the advice, and you’ll be mobbed next social.” He reached down and scratched Max, even though he seemed pretty happy to just lay down and squeak his pig.

 

Chuck scratched his chin. “Maybe I’ll alternate good and bad advice, just to fuck with ‘em. But I figure someone should teach them the basics - I mean, if they’re gonna try to score, at least they shouldn’t be fucking douchebags about it. Consent alone - and man, how do they even talk girls into some of those things?”

 

“I have absolutely no clue,” Yancy said. “They’re eager too, I guess, they like the guy and want to...or feel like it’s what they need to do, since they’re all getting fucking blowjobs.” He shook his head. “But it is true, someone should probably actually go over things with them besides…I mean, what do they know? They want pussy? They don’t know that, and that’s probably why he said _I’m not gay_ rather than _l like girls._ ”

 

“Yeah,” Chuck said, wincing a little. Maybe he shouldn’t have used that word in front of them, shit. “Yeah, that was a little… Man, maybe I’ll just stay out of it next time. None of my business if the little fucks wanna get laid.”

 

“Naw, that was good,” Yancy said. “What they should be hearing - but, yeah, that’s why I try to either just fuck with them or divert their attention to something else. Like, look, ice cream sundaes!”

 

“Good cop, bad cop?” Chuck suggested. “You fuck with ‘em, I’ll keep cramming consent and respecting boundaries down their throats till it actually sinks in.” He shook his head. “Though I think Rals would be better about that, he got on me for calling myself a slut the other day.”

 

“Oh, yeah, he’s…” Yancy waved his hand. “He’s taken a few women’s studies classes. But, I mean, I agree. Or, at least, the negative connotation, you know? I’ll admit to sleeping with a decent amount of people, and so maybe I’m a slut, but nothing wrong with that.” He shrugged his shoulders.

 

“S’my feeling on the matter. I’m not calling myself a slut because I think it’s a bad thing, Christ.” Chuck shook his head. “But we didn’t get into it. He tends to avoid any conversation that he thinks’ll lead to conflict. He’ll barely even say your name in front of me, ‘cause…”

Huh. In retrospect, that was a dumb, awkward thing to say. Dammit, Hansen, he thought to himself.

 

“Oh, Raleigh,” said Yancy, and he shook his head. He sighed. “I wish he…” The he actually processed what Chuck had said. _I’m a point of conflict?_ “Look, I know I’ve been kind of a dick, but...you guys seem to really like each other? And you’re-” there was plenty he wanted to say to Chuck, like, _planning on breaking my brother’s heart into several pieces,_ but that was between Chuck and Raleigh, “-you’re a good guy, Chuck.”

 

“Yeah,” Chuck said, “I like to think so. But, uh, you don’t always. Seem to, I mean. Think that.” He covered his eyes.

Fuck, way to sound like a blithering imbecile in front of your boyfriend’s brother, he thought. Go team. Gold stars all around.

 

“OK, look,” said Yancy, “I have a protective streak a mile wide when it comes to Raleigh, so, there’s that…and, I think you might appreciate, I have a tendency to kind of act like a dick to people when…” He flapped his hand, feeling sort of stupid. Here the kid was, being really honest with him, and he was just sort of blathering. “So when that combines, I can see why you would think - but, honestly, I do think that.” He winced and looked over at Chuck.

 

Chuck opened his mouth to say something along the lines of ‘I’m not going to hurt your brother,’ but… Well, he couldn’t really promise that. He didn’t have the best track record with relationships.

“Yeah,” he said. “I get that. He’s, uh, someone who definitely makes you wanna…” How to say this without making Raleigh sound even more like a puppy? “He’s worth being protective over,” he eventually said, and looked down.

It was kind of too late to be thinking about it, but he wondered if honesty was really the better policy about the fact that he was thinking of their relationship as temporary. Yancy was going to kill him at the end of the summer, he thought. Well, fuck.

 

“Yeah,” Yancy said, and nodded his head. “But I always have to remember to tell myself, you know, he’s a big boy and he can make his own decisions, so…” He gave Chuck a sort of half smile, trying to acknowledge that he knew and...what was he going to do? On the other hand, he didn’t want to vocalize it, didn’t want to be complicit in it.

 

Chuck nodded. He stared down at his hands, seeming to be enraptured in the curve of his knuckles, the short, stubby nails. Then he rubbed them over his face, abruptly weary.

“Uh huh.” He looked across the clearing at Raleigh, who was laughing and smiling with Mako. Fuck.

 

OK, Yancy thought, put the kid out of his misery. “I’m not gonna…whatever you guys are, uh, doing, in terms of this summer or whatever, that’s nothing involving me, so.” He kind of wanted to ruffle Chuck’s hair, or something, but instead followed his gaze across the field to where Raleigh was laughing and smiling with Mako. “Um, you know what I mean?”

 

Chuck looked at him, a wry tilt in the curve of his smile. “Yeah, your feelings are really my concern here, mate,” he said. Getting punched a thousand times by Yancy wouldn’t be as bad as Raleigh’s sad puppy eyes when Chuck…

God dammit, Chuck had not signed on for this. Poor life choices, Hansen, he told himself.

 

“Excellent,” Yancy said. “Because I’m not gonna, like, punch you in the face or whatever. Only Raleigh does that.” He smiled, then. He could not believe Raleigh actually had the balls for that one - he couldn’t even shout at him when he did it, he was just so pleased to see Raleigh actually be assertive about something.

 

“I didn’t tell him to do that,” Chuck said quickly. “That was all him.” Then he smiled, eyes sly. “But I do wish I coulda been there to see it.” Would have been a sight, for sure.

 

“Oh, shit,” Yancy said. “I know, I know. But he just opens the door, looks at Tendo, and Choi looks back at him, like...and then Raleigh takes two steps and punches him sort of in the face. I think he kind of realized after he started punching he could really fuck him up, so he sort of wobbled towards the end, but…then I laughed, which probably didn’t help. Oops.”

 

Chuck laughed. “Yeah, Rals has got some muscle on him, and Choi’s kind of a little bloke. S’probably a good thing he pulled his punch. Still.” He shook his head. “Did, uh, anyone ever tell you what it was about?” He was suddenly very occupied scanning every dancer in their line of vision, unable to look Yancy in the eye.

 

“Uh, no?” Yancy said. “I mean, Tendo said something about you or whatever, I figured, I don’t know. He’s a compulsive gossip.” He shrugged his shoulders, trying to find their little friends from earlier to see if they had any success. If they did, Chuck really was doomed.

 

Oh, thank god. Chuck sent a quick mental thanks to Mako, Tendo, and Jesus. Yancy may loosened up his normal protectiveness with Chuck, but he didn’t think that would last if he found out they were having unprotected sex without having talked about it beforehand.

He was looking around when he saw Mako and Sasha return from their adventures, with a disheveled and grinning Bailey walking ahead of them with a girl next to him straightening her clothes.

“Look at that,” Chuck said, nudging Yancy. “Little fuck pulled it off.”

 

“Ah, that is completely unexpected,” Yancy said, watching as Bailey and Tom were slow dancing with two girls from the girls camp. “Dude, you are...so, so done for now. You’re like the girl whisperer.” He grinned - Chuck had no idea, having never been here before. He’d been insulated from a lot of the camper’s more annoying behavior because they all hated him in their own way, but now…

 

Chuck did not seem to grasp the fact that he’d dug his own grave. “Yeah nah, they all hate and-or fear me,” he said, grinning. “I very carefully cultivated… that… Oh _balls_.” The smile fell off his face.

 

“Yup,” said Yancy, almost gleeful. “Oh, hey, Chris.”

Chris, one of Yancy’s campers, was standing in front of them with some trepidation. There was only about twenty-five minutes left in the social, so kids were starting to get desperate. “I wanted to talk to Chuck,” he said.

“All yours!” Yancy said.

 

“Cologne!” Chuck said, nigh-desperate. “More cologne. Bathe in it.”

 

“That’s what Yancy told Tom,” said Chris. “I want to know what you told him.” He narrowed his eyes at Chuck, challenging him.

 

“Then ask Tom,” Chuck said. “If he really, uh, understood it, he should be able to pass it on.”

 

“Basically,” said Yancy, “get some of your friends together, go and listen to the object of your affection, and then ask, do you want to dance? Make your expectations clear.”

“Tom said you told him about getting pussy,” said Chris. Yancy couldn’t contain his laughter and nearly did a spit take.

 

Chuck’s gaze darted around. “Look,” he said quietly. “I’ll give you advice if you never tell anyone I said that. Especially Director Hansen. And Director Pentecost. If they ever find out, I’m telling every girl here that you’ve got chlamydia.”

 

“What’s that?” asked Chris.

“Cooties,” Yancy said, because he could not resist it.

“I promise,” said Chris, very solemn.

 

Chuck groaned. “I am not giving advice on scoring pussy to a kid who still - no,” he said. “I can’t do it. I refuse.”

 

“What if I find out?” the kid asked.

“Go and get some ice cream, Chris,” Yancy said, and then laughed as Chris stalked off - and, hilariously, went right for the ice cream. “Holy shit.”

 

“I have made a huge mistake,” Chuck said glumly.

 

“Yes, yes you have,” Yancy said. “We all do it, though, first time out.” He couldn’t help but slap Chuck between his shoulders. Was that weird? He hoped not.

 

Chuck took the slap with a smile, albeit a resigned one. “Whatever. As long as my bunk doesn’t hear about this, doesn’t matter so much. As soon as I lose it with them, though…”

 

Yancy nodded his head, deciding it was best not to let Chuck know that he had lost everything. Thankfully, before Chuck could ask more questions about this, Raleigh and Mako headed over towards them, deer spotlight between them.

“Anything good?” Yancy asked.

 

Mako looked straight at Chuck, eyes narrowed. “I seemed to overhear a certain someone’s name whispered between the last two boys I found…”

“What can I say?” Chuck grinned. “I’m a hot piece of ass, babe. Can’t help who sees it.”

“I dare say that is not what they were conferring about,” she said dryly.

 

“Blow job?” Yancy asked, while making eye contact with Raleigh and giving him a smile. “Chuck and I only had some over the chest groping. Max was super helpful, though.” Max looked up at him and then walked over to Raleigh, wiggling his tail and squeaking his pig.

“Aw, hello handsome,” Raleigh said, scrunching Max’s head eagerly.

 

Chuck grinned. He got what Raleigh was always saying, about how terrible temptation was. All he wanted to do was reel Raleigh over and kiss him stupid in front of everyone, just from how damn adorable he was with Max.

Mako shook her head at him.

“Yancy and I did grope each other over the chest,” Chuck said. “No blowjobs, though.” Kind of a sideways way of telling Raleigh they’d gotten some bonding in, while being his normal snarky self about it.

 

“Aw, that’s too bad,” Raleigh said, glancing up at Chuck and smiling at him. “It’s been a long couple of weeks, hasn’t it, Yance?”

Yancy narrowed his eyes, about to make a comment about Raleigh’s lack of knowledge on that subject, but then stopped himself. “Actually…” He grinned, slightly. “Are all of the campers talking about how Chuck knows everything about wooing teenage girls?”

 

“Yes, that sounds right,” Mako said.

Chuck whipped around to glare at him, all _what are you getting at, Becket_?

 

“He gives two kids some pragmatic advice on how to better approach girls, and…” Yancy shook his head. “Told them to approach them in a group, compliment them, be nice and tell them what they wanted...and look what happens. Little fuckers.”

 

“That’s not… exactly what I said,” Chuck hedged. “And what are you getting at, Becket?”

 

“Uh...how, due to Bailey and Tom’s success, all of the campers probably now know you are the go-to guy for their questions on girls?” Yancy said.

“Oh, no, Chuck,” Raleigh said, looking up. “Were you actually helpful?”

 

“I didn’t think I was saying anything new?” Chuck said, rubbing the back of his neck. “It seemed like obvious enough shit to me…”

 

“Because you are old, and wise,” said Yancy. “Don’t you remember fumbling around when you were their age, not knowing exactly what to do?”

 

“Yeah, and that’s why I -” Chuck stopped himself from revealing how very scientific his quest to be the best sex partner imaginable had been.

There may have been spreadsheets.

“Whatever,” he said. “It’s shit they should know, anyway. Maybe I’m just a good person, ever think of that? Maybe I’m doing this out of the goodness of my heart.” He was grinning by the time he got to the end of that sentence, because - Ha.

 

“Chuck,” Raleigh said, “when my campers say, Raleigh, should I bring my tennis racquet to tennis? Do you know what I tell them?”

 

Chuck blinked at him. “Yes - no? Is this a trick question?”

 

“I tell them no,” Raleigh said. He did not envy Chuck. “I tell them no, and then they don’t ask me those questions ever again.”

 

“Whatever,” said Chuck again. “This is a public service to the girls, then. There is no reason to be having sex with a guy who doesn’t know where the goddamn clitoris is.”

He said that last bit kind of loud, he realized, as a couple kids turned to look at him with wide eyes. He wondered if they were still laboring under the impression it was pronounced cly-TOR-is, or if they even knew what it was.

“God dammit,” he said, as Mako sank her face into her hand.

 

“It is important,” Raleigh said, looking right at Mako. “I mean, even in college, listening to…what?”

“I agree,” said Yancy. “It is an important public service - and I am certainly not willing to provide it, Raleigh is probably not capable, so I applaud you, Chuck.”

 

“I would make an inappropriate joke about needing a live model for demonstration, but I reckon you would smack me,” Chuck said to Mako.

“I would,” she said, muffled into her hands.

 

“I would be capable,” Raleigh said, looking at Yancy. He shook his head at Raleigh. “Mako?”

 

Chuck blinked at him in abject confusion. “Are you… going to demonstrate your capability with her? Because I would not be super into that.”

 

“No, I mean, Mako - I would be capable of advising campers, right? Yancy said I wouldn’t.” Raleigh wasn’t sure why this was important to him - it was just one of Yancy’s off-handed remarks, but it stung. Wanker.

 

“Advise them on where the clitoris is?” Chuck said doubtfully. “I thought you’d never had sex with a chick. It’s, uh, kind of tricky in the theoretical.”

 

“Oh,” Raleigh said. He blinked. “Maybe not on that, in particular, but, other things can’t be that different...you know what, never mind,” he said. “You’re right.” He scrunched Max’s head some more.

 

Chuck laughed. “Life tip - if you find yourself uttering the sentence ‘other things can’t be that different’ about picking up chicks, you aren’t ready to advise on it.” He nudged Raleigh with the toe of his shoe. “S’okay. If there were a class on how to give first-rate blowjobs to a guy, you’d be my go-to instructor.”

He made sure to lower his voice that time. That one, he wasn’t risking anyone hearing.

 

Raleigh grinned and blushed at him and then looked up to see if Yancy and Mako had heard that. But they had started conferring on a pair of campers who were dancing together, and then the two of them wandered off to go and intercept something. Or maybe just to give Chuck and Raleigh the last fifteen or so minutes of the social together.

“You have a decent night?” Raleigh asked.

 

Chuck thought about it for a minute. “Yeah,” he said, smiling, something soft in his eyes. “Talked some with your idiot brother, that was good.” He shot Raleigh a grin. “You were a favorite subject, of course.”

 

Chuck seemed in a good mood, and...Raleigh wasn’t sure what to make of that, but at least things seemed to have gone well. “Oh? Did you hear all the greatest hits of stupid shit I’ve done while drunk?”

 

“No, but I’m all ears, mate,” Chuck said, straightening up with interest.

 

“Well, Yancy might have differing opinions,” Raleigh said, considering it. “But I tried to fall asleep in a bush, once, and Tendo had to coax me out. I said I wanted to sleep in the nature. Um, last summer, I tried to adopt a baby bear...and then there was the uh, um…” Raleigh blushed and said, very quickly, “blowjobcontest.”

 

“Hey now,” Chuck said, eyes suddenly boring intently into Raleigh’s. “We are so not done, sweetheart. What blowjob contest?”

 

“Oh, well,” Raleigh said. “It was last year, and, uh, I’m not entirely sure how it got started but assertions were made by various people and I was like, _I am pretty good at blowjobs,_ and so there was some argument, and I proposed a competition, and...so, that happened. I won. But the girls tried to invalidate i as unfair, since I had a dick, but no one was willing to compete against me in the males only division, so.”

 

Chuck raised his eyebrows, amused. “Who was the judge?”

 

“Well, that was another problem, since there was a, uh, refractory period problem, so we came up with an objective scoring sheet and several volunteers. It kind of more like Olympic figure skating, I guess.” Raleigh shrugged and felt himself blush. He had been just drunk enough that night. “I ended up, uh, dating my judge for a little bit.”

 

Chuck gave a soft noise of despair. “God dammit,” he said, lower lip jutting out in a pout. “So we can’t - because we’re dating, so - that’s stupid.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Kind of goes against the rules of monogamy if we make someone else judge us, but we can’t exactly judge our own blowjob skills.”

 

Raleigh blinked. “You want to know which one of us is better?” he asked. “But that’s the problem, right, because blowjobs are so personal - like, one person’s skills much not match what another person wants or where they’re… I mean, I guess there’s a certain level of skill that everyone is going to appreciate but, you know, just because one person would vote for me doesn’t mean I would come out on top in all instances.” He considered this rant for a moment and felt himself blush. “I might have put too much thought into this.” Max huffed, perhaps indicating he agreed.

 

“Nah, mate,” Chuck said brightly. “You’re just getting started. What you need is a spreadsheet.” He grinned. It would probably be better for both of them if Raleigh assumed he was mocking him, rather than being absolutely, dead serious, which was the truth.

 

“A...how would that even work?” Raleigh asked. He tried to think about it - and there was something in the way that Chuck’s eyes were glistening that suggested he wasn’t just being mocked. “You have one, don’t you?”

 

“Not, uh, anymore?” Chuck said. “I told you, clitorises are tricky in the theoretical. It takes some effort to be good, and I needed to track my progress, so… I should probably quit while I’m ahead, huh.” He pursed his lips. Maybe it was already too late for that.

 

“No, I suppose - you like quantitative versus qualitative methods, then,” Raleigh said, and shrugged. “So did you, like, use it to produce graphs?” He smiled.

 

Chuck punched his shoulder. “You’re making fun of me,” he said. “And no, I did not use it to produce graphs.” He pouted more. “Whatever, you’re reaping the fruits of my labors, you should be grateful.”

 

“I was only a little bit,” Raleigh said. “I mean, I kept a journal, so, pretty much the same thing.” He grinned. “And I am very grateful.”

 

“You better be,” Chuck said. He grinned. “Regardless, we should pick an unbiased third party to give blowjobs to, ‘cause now I’m curious.”

 

“I suppose we could do that,” Raleigh said. “Though that might be difficult, uh, here…” He wasn’t especially keen on the idea. “Or I could just tell you that you’re the winner?”

 

“Rals,” Chuck said, reaching halfway out to touch him but drawing his hand away before he could make contact, conscious of where they were. “I’m kidding. I, uh, I’ve learned not to compete with…”

 

“With?” Raleigh prodded, not sure at all where he was going and then brushing his hand lightly against Chuck’s hip for a momentary graze.

 

Chuck shrugged. “Nothing, really. Just, I’m really competitive and a lot of people can’t handle that.” He sneered, apparently not very impressed with those people. It had definitely fucked up more than one relationship in his past, his hyper-competitiveness - but people who couldn’t take the heat weren’t worth dating in the first place, he figured.

Still, he tried to avoid turning everything into a contest with his boyfriends and girlfriends, because he liked getting laid, and sacrifices must be made.

 

“Oh,” Raleigh said. “I never would have guessed. But - I get that. I can be, too, so…” Most people didn’t generally believe that about him, but Raleigh tended to channel it into a few of his endeavors. Mostly swimming, but he was still banned from playing video games with Yancy and Tendo after he’d thrown his controller at Yancy’s head last time he lost at Mario Cart.

 

Chuck looked at him, eyes narrowed slightly. “You never would have guessed? Is that…?” Raleigh had to have been making fun of him, because any moron could guess that Chuck was competitive.

 

“Just a little gentle teasing?” Raleigh said. “Nothing wrong with being competitive. I beaned Yancy in the head with the game controller last time we played Mario Cart and have been banned from all future tournaments.” He shrugged, trying to make light of the whole thing. Also, great - Chuck gets along with his brother all evening, so now Raleigh is subject to the hair trigger temper.

 

Chuck raised his eyebrows. “You know, I would have thought he’d be… Or is he one of those people who’s just really good at everything?” He made a face. Those people were the bane of his existence.

 

“Yancy?” Raleigh asked, and considered this. “Sort of. He’s not really athletic at all - reason he works in the arts and crafts shack, you know?” Yancy was pretty much good at most other things, though - casually good at them, too, which was more infuriating.

 

Chuck thought about this. He drummed his fingers on his bicep, then sighed. “See, he’s the one I wanna compete with. He says he’s kind of a -” He swallowed the word, looking at Raleigh. “Says he has a lot of sex too. It’d be interesting to see, you know, eat out a girl, get her opinion. Maybe - ”

Oh, fuck. Abort, abort. He clicked his mouth shut.

 

“Um,” Raleigh said. He inhaled, and exhaled, and then considered where to go with this. “OK.” He really didn’t want to say any more, because he had really, really been fine finding out that Chuck was bi - what did he care, as long as they were exclusive? But this was the sort of thing that made people wary about the whole endeavor, even if they knew better.

 

“That’s not what I meant,” Chuck said, working his jaw. He looked down. “I didn’t mean, like, now. I was talking about…” _After_ , he thought, but that didn’t make things any better, did it?

 

“Right,” Raleigh said. He was trying to figure out how Chuck even imagined that was feasible - so, I know I just broke up with your brother, how about we get into a pussy eating contest? “I’m gonna-” he waved his hand in a vague direction opposite of Chuck, and then started walking.

There was part of him that told him he needed to try and smooth it over, make Chuck feel better, stop whatever was coming - but, no, fuck it. He hadn’t done anything, this time. He had a right to be angry.

 

Chuck started after him, mouth open to say - something, he would improvise - but he was intercepted by a couple of campers, and by the time he’d given them the briefest, vaguest advice on picking up girls, he had lost Raleigh in the crowd.

He chewed his lip. All that effort trying to win over Yancy, and he’d fucked up with the man himself. Good going, Hansen.

He would just… apologize later. When Raleigh had a chance to calm down, because - he couldn’t stay mad, could he? Not about something this stupid.

 

Raleigh was intercepted by Mako and Yancy as he tried to make his way back to his bunk - his campers were asleep, after all, and he’d just come down to give some extra supervision at Herc’s request.

“Come on, let’s get some ice cream before they shut it down,” Yancy said. “Did you get any yet?”

“No,” he said. “All right.”

 

Raleigh didn’t sound like his normal bubbly self, and Mako opened her mouth to ask before pausing. Chuck had been working hard to win over Yancy, she knew, so maybe she shouldn’t air out their dirty laundry in front of him?

But fuck it, Chuck probably deserved it after whatever he’d done to put that look on Raleigh’s face.

“Is everything alright?” she said softly.

 

“I just…” he stepped aside with his ice cream, pulling away from Yancy as he leaned down to talk to another camper. “I don’t even know, I was being stupid, told him about that time I was really drunk and did the blowjob competition?” Mako nodded her head. “And next thing I know he’s saying something about how he keeps spreadsheets on how good he is at sex and that he wants to go against Yancy eating girls out because he has a lot of experience or something. And then he said, you know, _after._ ” The last came out quickly and a bit breathlessly. God, he was stupid.

 

Mako sighed. “I feel like - You know Chuck says stupid things sometimes. He clearly misspoke, vis a vis the competition with Yancy, and I am sure he regrets it. But… Yes, after. That is upsetting.”

She bit her lip. “I do not… think he means that he is already planning his life after you, but… Yes, that is upsetting,” she said again.

 

“It was just...this is stupid, but more like, what is he even thinking? I’ll have a pussy-eating competition with your brother after we’re done? Like…” Raleigh shook his head. “It was just kind of thoughtless and callous and...I just needed to walk away, that’s all. Get some ice cream.” He spooned some vanilla and hot fudge sauce into his mouth. “Oh god I’m eating my feelings again.”

 

“Thoughtless and callous is par for the course, with Chuck,” Mako said. “But not generally malicious unless he feels he has been wronged. I expect he will apologize to you in short order. And, um - You are allowed to eat, you know?” She poked his ribs. “You are too skinny as it is.”

 

“I’m not too skinny!” Raleigh protested, and he glanced down and tried to consider his stomach under his t-shirt. “I’ve got a big season coming up - I’ve put a lot of laps in...and, I know you’re right. But like I said I just needed to get a little space.” He sighed. It was a definite slap in the face - Raleigh supposed he could pretend everything was OK with this summer long arrangement until it got brought to the forefront.

 

She bit her lower lip. “Raleigh,” she said softly. “If you cannot handle the way he is treating this - you know what I mean, his whole ‘this relationship has an expiration date’ act - then you need to talk to him. It is one thing if you were okay with it, but I do not believe you are. You cannot go through this for an entire summer.”

 

Raleigh looked down in his ice cream and sighed. “Well, of course I’d want to keep dating him...but I can’t make him, can I? And I get that, and I just want to enjoy it, but...I mean I guess I’m OK with it and not OK with it. But what’s the point in talking? He’s not going to change his mind, Mako.”

 

“You don’t know that,” she argued, but it was weak and she knew it. Chuck Hansen did not change his mind once it had been made up. She reached up and ran her fingers lightly through his hair, the way one might pet a sick dog. “If you think this is the best choice for your mental state, by all means. But… if it becomes too much, you could always…”

The likelihood of Raleigh breaking up with Chuck was about as low as Chuck changing his mind, she knew.

 

“I know,” Raleigh said. He leaned into Mako’s touch and sort of sighed. Maybe he had been a dog in another life - an awesome other life. “It’s not too much, just...why does he want to see who’s better at oral with my brother, anyway?”

 

Mako shrugged. “Chuck is competitive. Do you think he would be so obsessed at being the best at sex if he weren’t constantly comparing himself to others in his mind?” No one with any real confidence was so absorbed with proving how much better he was.

Chuck’s insecurities were always fairly transparent.

 

“Oh,” Raleigh said. “That whole thing just does not make any sense to me. Even if Yancy’s objectively better, say, he’s not with the same person Chuck is with, so what does it matter?’ He couldn’t help but think oh, Chuck - what drove him to this particular obsession?

 

“Excuse me, but are you the same Raleigh Becket who challenged multiple girls last year to a blowjob competition?” Mako asked archly, one hand on her hip. “What is the difference between being competitive about sex and being competitive about, say, Mario Kart? What difference does it make to you if Yancy beats you at video games? What difference does it make to Chuck if he gives better oral? Either way, he is better.”

 

Raleigh pressed his lip together and sighed. “One, I was really drunk and I didn’t explicitly challenge anyone, it just - sort of happened, and then, after that, I thought about it, and...and you can win at Mario Kart, Mako. It’s a race.” Mako glared at him. “No, you’re right. You are very wise.”

 

“I think you can win at oral, also,” she said thoughtfully. “There are definitely boys who are better than… Hm, maybe I should try out your brother, if he’s as good as I’ve been led to believe.” She shook her head at him, teasing but wry. “I deserve it after all the mental trauma you and Baby Hansen put me through.”

 

“See, I don’t even know where Chuck got that idea from, though, other than Yancy must have told him he’s been with a decent amount of people, but...I mean, I’ve never heard anything about that.” Raleigh paused. “You deserve _something_ for playing relationship counselor, man. Also - did Yancy, uh, make any progress last time? He implied he did.”

 

“I do not know why you are asking me about your own brother’s sex life when he is right over there, but, let us just say I am not one to tell about other people’s kissing.” She flicked his forehead. “And ask him, if you wish to know more than that.”

 

“Yancy!” Raleigh said, and Yancy turned and walked over. “Did you finally succeed in convincing Alona to-”

“Mmm, yeah,” Yancy said, and he smiled at Mako. “Let’s just say that suite came in handy, Raleigh, A+ choice there.”

 

“Much appreciation from the rest of us as well,” Mako said, smirking at Yancy, who she was fairly sure had gone farther with another counselor than was strictly appropriate while sharing a room with them the summer before.

 

“You know,” Yancy said, “I know you’re smirking about last summer, and trust me, Mako, I would never do something so inappropriate. I am a gentleman.” He put his hand to his chest and grinned at her. “We going back there next week? Pretty good location, I thought.” He glanced over at Mako.

 

Mako looked at Raleigh. “I feel like that is up to Chuck, no?” Whether or not Raleigh was mad at Chuck, she expected him to still be as doting and attentive as ever.

 

“He liked it because we could bring Max,” Raleigh said. “So probably.” He smiled at both of them.


	9. Chapter 9

Chuck looked down at Max, then knelt, gathering Max up again his body for a quick hug, which Max seemed to appreciate, judging by the delighted tongue-bath he gave Chuck. Call it emotional support, call it stalling for time, he liked the solid weight of his dog in his arms. Then he rapped his knuckles against the doorframe.

 

Raleigh put his book down, figuring Chuck would come by. “Bear?” One of his campers mumbled, probably half asleep.

“Naw, probably just Herc coming by to check on us,” Raleigh said, then stood up and opened the door. “Hey,” he said, and stepped outside.

 

Chuck wordlessly thrust a plastic bag out in front of him, which held a jumbo-size pack of butterscotch candies that Chuck had, uhh, “borrowed’ from Herc. The Beckets had both reached out to him with food. Seemed to be something Raleigh might understand.

“Sorry, this is the best I could get under short notice,” he muttered. Then added, “I’m apologizing too,” because he didn’t want Raleigh to think he was trying to buy his forgiveness. “But, um, yeah, here.”’

 

“Thanks,” Raleigh said, and he accepted the candies carefully. “I really like hard candies. Um, and it’s OK, I just needed to get some space…”

 

“Yeah, Choi told me,” Chuck said, gesturing to the bag of candies, though it had taken a good deal of begging for Tendo to spill. Then, Raleigh’s words sinking in, he jerked back with wide eyes. “Wait, fuck, should I…?”

This was the part he’d always been bad at. Was it invasive or caring? Too fast, or…

 

“Should you what?” Raleigh asked, not sure what Chuck was getting at. He was about to explain himself, but took a step back. This was sort of Chuck’s show.

 

“If you, uh, need space, I can - I don’t wanna… smother you?” Chuck called back memories of girlfriends past and tried to remember the things that had pissed them off about him, or him about them. Smothering was a definite thing.

 

“Oh, no, I meant back at the social,” Raleigh said. “That was why I walked away. But it’s OK - thanks for the apology.” He opened a candy and put it in his mouth. “I’d like you to stay for a bit, if you want.”

 

“Rals,” said Chuck, frowning. “I haven’t apologized yet. I have a whole speech.” He frowned deeper.

 

“Oh, I’m...go ahead,” Raleigh said. “Do you want to sit down?” He sat down on the steps leading up to his cabin.

 

Chuck sat next to him, hunched over with his elbows on his knees. “I don’t actually have a speech,” he said. “Didn’t actually, uh, prepare anything. Just - that was a dick move, and I don’t - I’m not gonna make excuses. I was a dick. And ‘m sorry.” He cracked his knuckles compulsively.

 

“OK,” Raleigh said. “Thank you.” He reached over and squeezed Chuck’s thigh.

 

Chuck looked at him, one eyebrow raised. “Is this actually okay, or - I’m not doubting your sincerity, but I’ve had girlfriends who… Like, if you’re mad, don’t let me think things are okay and then wait for me to notice that you’re still pissed.” He raised his hands. “This is not directed at you, I’m just… You’d tell me, right?”

 

“I was a little mad,” Raleigh said, “But it was just because what you said was callous and it just... I understand how you feel about…” He waved his hands sort of between them. “So. I’m not still pissed or anything, now.”

 

Chuck took one of his hands and held it between both of his, rubbing circles on the back with his thumbs. “Yeah?” he said, smiling slightly. “And how do I feel about…?”

 

“Well, just - I know that you don’t want to go to school with a relationship, or anything, so…” Raleigh resisted the urge to sigh at Chuck’s touch.

 

It was the first time that either of them had said it aloud in front of the other, if Chuck remembered right. “And you’re okay with that?” he asked, shooting Raleigh a sidelong glance.

 

“Well, that’s what you want, so…” Raleigh looked down and sighed.

 

Chuck looked down also, biting at his lower lip. He didn’t know what to say to that, because it was true, and there was no way out of that. He wasn’t going to lie. “You’re gonna be sick of me by the end of summer anyway,” he said with a humorless laugh.

 

“I don’t think so,” Raleigh said. Fuck, had he hoped for - a little bit, he decided. Especially after what had happened the past weekend they had off. But it was like Mako said, Chuck had made a decision and there wasn’t going to be much to change his mind.

 

Chuck acknowledged this with a wry smile. Yeah, he didn’t really think so either. Might have been arrogant, but the way Raleigh threw himself into things, he couldn’t see Raleigh just getting bored or whatever. He looked around, making sure they were alone, before kissing Raleigh, soft and deep, tasting butterscotch on his lips.

“Can you at least pretend, then?” he said. “For me?”

 

“That I’ll get tired of you?” Raleigh asked, and, _really, Chuck? Ask that after kissing me like that?_

 

Chuck nodded, uncertainty in the slant of his eyes.

 

“I mean, I could try,” Raleigh said, “but it wouldn’t be very sincere, I don’t think, but if it’s important to you…”

 

Chuck shrugged. “I don’t mean - not literally. Just… please don’t make this any harder for me.” He was sure about his choices, but that didn’t make them any easier to follow through with.

 

“Oh,” said Raleigh. “I’m not really sure how to, uh, go about doing that. But I’ll try.” He gave Chuck a smile and then reached over and pet Max, who had been busy squeaking his pig while they talked. He could sort of see where Herc was coming from.

 

Fuck, no wonder Yancy was so worried about Raleigh. Chuck couldn’t shake the feeling that he was leading Raleigh on, even though he was trying to be totally transparent every step of the way. He’d never lied. That had to count for something, right?

“Never mind,” he sighed. “Just, I’m having a really fucking good time, so -” He curled his hand around the back of Raleigh’s head, gripping the hair so he could turn Raleigh’s face towards him and lay another kiss on him. There was nothing soft about this one - he forced Raleigh’s lips apart and plunged his tongue inside, mapping out every corner of his mouth.

Then he pulled away, because this wasn’t exactly the time or place for that. He coughed, standing up. “I’ll see you later,” he said, whistling for Max.

 

“Great,” Raleigh said. He sighed, because of the kiss, and watching Chuck walk off. He wasn’t sure how he could be more transparent about things - he understood what Chuck wanted, and while he would have made a different choice, he respected it and knew he wasn’t going to change Chuck’s mind.

Was it going to hurt? Yeah, but at least he knew it was coming. It would probably just be sad, because he liked Chuck, and - he shook his head. No point in dwelling on it.

 

* * *

 

Raleigh adjusted his backpack and swallowed, hard. He would probably feel worse if Tendo had interceded, the good friend that he was. “Take the edge off,” he said, passing Raleigh a little white pill that he knew was Vicodin.

He was just beginning to feel the effects - the pleasant, mild high and sense that he could do anything, the slight itch to his skin and desire to talk and giggle. By the time they got to the cliff he should be properly stoned and able to fling himself off with abandon.

Also if he broke himself it wouldn’t hurt, so, win-win-win!

“Max,” he said, “You should have some adventure gear.”

 

“Max isn’t jumping,” Chuck said, smiling at the idea. His little paws flailing, tongue flapping in the air… “But we can get you a parachute if you’re gonna be a pussy about it.”

 

“No, no, like…” Raleigh waved his hands. “A little vest, and he could keep his water in it. Any supplies that he might need. Like a whip. He’s already got that super cute life vest.”

 

“Why does Max need a super cute whip, exactly?” Chuck asked him, head cocked to the side.

 

“Like, Indiana Jones!” Raleigh said, considering this. “Chuck is trying to keep you from maximizing your adventurous spirit, Max.” Max looked up at him and seemed to agree. Raleigh grinned.

 

Chuck looked at Yancy, eyebrows raised. “Did you get him drunk?” he asked. “Because drunk cliff-diving is an even worse idea than it sounds, and that’s saying something.”

 

“I did not get him drunk,” Yancy said, and then he turned and looked at Tendo. “What did you give him?”

“Uh,” Tendo said.

“Vicodin,” Raleigh said happily. “But these are pretty strong. Were they 10/500s, Tendo? You should have warned me.”

“Um, no, it was Percocet, Rals,” Tendo said, and winced.

“Woo,” said Raleigh.

 

“Shit,” Chuck groaned. He punched Tendo in the arm, much lighter than Raleigh had. “What’s the deal, Choi, tryna get Rals to cark it on the rocks? He’s like a drunk toddler, you really trust him to jump off a cliff like this?”

 

“Just thought he needed something to relax,” Tendo said. “Look at him, and look at me - I figured he would be fine with it, just chill out a little bit.”

Raleigh pouted at this and looked at Chuck.

“Yes, except you recreationally use opiates fairly frequently and Raleigh does not,” Yancy said.

“I get drug tested for swimming,” Raleigh said. “But it’s the summer so it’s OK.”

 

“Rals,” Chuck said, a hand on his arm. “If you didn’t want to do it, you could have said.”

He smirked. “I mean, sure I would have mocked you mercilessly for being a huge wuss, but that’s still better than getting fucking stoned before jumping off a bloody cliff, you idiot.”

Tendo snorted. “What do you know about being stoned, Hansen?”

“Not the time, Choi,” Chuck said without looking away from Raleigh. “Mate, you don’t have to do this.”

 

“But,” Raleigh looked at Chuck and frowned. “You wanted me to do extreme adventure things with you. This will be fine. I feel loose.”

“He looks loose,” Alona said, appearing beside Yancy. “Look at his pupils. They are so small.” She wrapped an arm around Yancy’s shoulders and shook her head.

 

Chuck looked at Raleigh, clearly worried. He tugged him close and kissed his forehead, murmuring, “You idiot.”

Then he turned to Alona. “You’ve done this run, yeah? How dangerous is it? Too much for a stoned toddler?”

 

“No, he will be fine,” said Alona. “Is a bit high, but very clean all the way down, nice and deep. Plus you know how to dive, right?”

Raleigh looked at her and gave her a big smile. “I went off the high dive three times,” he said. “The first time I kind of threw up in my mouth though.”

 

Chuck chuckled. “Damn, I hope you remember this later,” he said, patting Raleigh on the head. “Maybe one of us goes first, makes sure the dumbass doesn’t drown himself?”

 

“You should judge it,” Alona said, “since I think he will be fine.”

“I’m not going to drown, Chuck,” Raleigh said, voice patient. “I’m a lifeguard.”

“Oh, he’ll remember it,” Yancy said, and he smiled at Raleigh. It probably made him a bad brother, but he really enjoyed the various stoned iterations of his brother.

 

Chuck laughed, shaking his head. “Never dated a stoner before,” he teased, and then said to Yancy, “and you should have told me he’s scared of heights. There are other extreme sports, Jesus.”

Explained why Raleigh had been so quick to stay with him at the hotel that day.

 

Yancy held his hands up. “I’m not the one who is responsible for telling that,” he said. “You should have been honest.”

“Everything you wanted to do involved hurling yourself up or down from something really high,” Raleigh said. His felt very loose and pliant. It would probably be good to get fucked like this. He grinned at Chuck.

“And here we are,” said Alona, pushing aside some tree branches to reveal the cliff and lake.

 

“Aw, bullshit,” Chuck said. “Sure, parasailing, bungee jumping, urban climbing, hang gliding… But freediving! And you’re the one who vetoed that.”

He looked out over the cliff and whistled, eyes lighting up. Oh yeah, this is what he’d been missing in his life. His dimples were out at full strength as he stripped off his shirt and shoes and left them in a pile on the ground.

 

“I thought this was freediving!” Raleigh protested. “Also I said we could go but then we….got distracted.” Raleigh grinned as Chuck stripped down, revealing his chest. If possible, he’d got broader from all the kayaking.

He walked a little further towards the cliff and widened his eyes at the jump. “You did this last week?” he asked.

“Several times,” Alona said, almost cheerful. Yancy nodded, jaw held tight.

 

“You’re gonna love it,” Chuck promised Raleigh, taking a few steps back to get a running jump. Then he looked over at Max. “Huh - do we just leave him here, or…?”

 

“I will watch the dog,” Yancy said. “Right, buddy? You, me, and the pig? What? I jumped and proved my masculinity last week,” he said to Alona. She shook her head.

“Do we...are we all just going at once?” Raleigh asked, looking over the edge of the cliff.

 

“I never realized what wusses you Becket boys are,” Chuck said. He walked over and fitted himself into Raleigh’s arms, stretching up to kiss him hard, and took Raleigh’s arms and arranged them around his bare back.

Whispering so only Raleigh could hear, “I’m gonna make this worth your while, ya kna. You do this for me, I’ll rim you til you’re crying for me - or maybe I’ll spank you, huh? Either way, I’m gonna fuck that sweet ass of yours after, and you better fucking believe I’m gonna be a tease about it.” He nipped Raleigh’s earlobe, the lightest hint of teeth. “And I brought my handcuffs.”

 

“Ooh,” Raleigh said, also hushed. “Yeah, very good.”

“Less kissing, more jumping,” Tendo said.

“No, really, though, do we all go at once?” Raleigh asked. “Do we hold hands?” He shivered, thinking about what Chuck had said.

 

“We’re not 14 year old girls with Instagram,” Chuck said. Then he backed up, blew Raleigh a kiss, and took a running leap over the cliff, laughing and whooping with pure joy on the way down. He hit the water in a fairly graceful dive, and emerged 10 seconds later, still laughing.

“C’mon, you bloody wusses,” he called up. “‘Cept you, Alona, clearly you’re the only one here with any balls.”

 

“Goddamnit,” Raleigh said. He stepped back as well, winced, and looked at Yancy. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he said and ran for the edge of the cliff. He managed a bit of a leap, but it was mostly a fall, and not a particularly graceful one.

_Fuck, fuck, fuck,_ he thought, carefully turning and thrusting his hands in front of him to dive into the water as Chuck had. He was relieved when the water surrounded him - this, this he could handle, and stayed under for a bit, regaining his composure. Then he popped up and looked at Chuck. “Woo,” he said.

“Very good dive, Raleigh!” Alona called. “Very small splash!”

“I have balls too!” Tendo hollered before he lept off the cliff, primarily flailed on the way down, and managed to get himself into a pencil position before he hit the water.

 

“Aw, look at Mr. Cool and Composed,” Chuck teased, paddling over to Raleigh. “Not thrilling enough for you? S’alright, we can go skydiving next.” He wrapped his arms around Raleigh’s neck and leaned in for another kiss, kicking his legs to keep himself afloat.

 

“Um,” Raleigh said, kissing Chuck back hard and scissoring with his legs. “That was incredibly thrilling, I think.” He turned as Alona landed next to them with a fairly graceful dive of her own.

She grinned when her head popped up. “I agree, Chuck,” she said. “These Beckets, no sense of adventure.”

 

Chuck turned to look at her without pulling out of Raleigh’s arms. “Oh, shit, but actually - my father said he’d pay for me to go skydiving for my birthday this year. I think they’ve got group discounts, if you’re up for it.”

 

“Of course I am,” she said. “No pun intended, right?” She turned onto her back and paddled a bit while Tendo watched.

“That’s some birthday present,” Raleigh said.

 

“Combination birthday and graduation present,” Chuck said. He shrugged. “Perks of being an only child? I’d invite you, but I don’t actually want to get chundered on, cheers.”

 

“Chundered?” Raleigh asked, breaking back from Chuck to bob in the water a bit. He really wanted to swim - he’d been confined to the lanes of the lake for too long at camp. “You good up there, Yance? Mako?”

“More than!” Yancy called down. “Watch out for the spiders on your way up.”

 

“Vomited,” Chuck clarified, rolling his eyes. “Oi, did anyone bring any goggles?” he called up.

 

“What do you need goggles for?” Raleigh asked. “I brought my pair, at least, in my bag. And don’t roll your eyes - I don’t speak Australian.” He stuck his tongue out at Chuck.

 

“Yance, shang me Raleigh’s goggles,” Chuck said as he splashed water on Raleigh.

 

Raleigh dove under the water, blowing some bubbles in front of him before he came up. Chuck had Raleigh’s goggles in hand. “Don’t break them,” he said. They had been fairly expensive, but completely worth it.

 

“I’ll be good,” Chuck said, adjusting the fit over his eyes. Once satisfied, he turned to Raleigh. “If I’m not back up in two minutes, that’s probably a bad sign, just so you know.”

 

“Right, well, I’ll probably save you,” Raleigh said, and grinned at Chuck.

 

“That’s the idea,” Chuck said, and dove underwater.

When he reemerged a minute and a half later, he was panting, chest heaving from exertion - more from the constant effort of kicking to keep from floating up than the effort of holding his breath. He frowned. “I’m out of practice,” he grumbled. “I’m gonna lose it entirely in Boston, dammit.”

 

“Lose what?” Raleigh asked, paddling closer to him. Chuck definitely looked a bit out of sorts.

 

“Lung capacity,” Chuck said, pulling down the goggle and hanging them around his neck. “Used to be able to hold my breath for almost three minutes.”

 

“Right, but, presumably MIT has a...pool?” Raleigh said. “Here, let me see those - what am I supposed to do?” He glanced over and saw that Alona and Tendo had already got out.

 

“Oh, I wasn’t - you need weights or slacklines to freedive right,” Chuck said. “I was just testing how long I could hold my breath.” He pulled off the goggles and handed them to Raleigh.

 

“OK, well, let’s see,” Raleigh said, and put the goggles on - not sure why he needed them in fresh water, but whatever.

He dove under and started to kick and push himself down slowly, relaxed in the water as it surrounded him. It made him think about when he had first got into swimming, primarily so he could get out of gym class and everyone making fun of him for being...and had been surprised to find he liked it. Even better, that he was good at it, even when he had been overweight - and he only got better as he shed the weight.

He paddled, sort of content, and then grinned when he remembered what Chuck had promised him. Maybe not the handcuffs, though. He knew Chuck liked them, but he wanted to touch him.

He figured he’d been under for a minute, maybe a minute and a half, and he slowly pulled himself up to the surface.

 

“Yeah, so, with freediving, you’re holding weights that drag you down fast, and you go through all the different levels of water pressure like that,” Chuck said, now floating on his back, eyes closed. “And you gotta control your breathing and rest at the right times on the way up, so your brain doesn’t hemorrhage, and you don’t spontaneously black out, or whatever. It’s fun. Like scuba without the suit.”

 

“But how long was I under?” Raleigh asked, because he was curious. “Or didn’t you look?”

 

“Look? I don’t wear a watch, just count in my head. But I’d say yeah, two minutes, bit more.” Chuck shrugged. “You should get into it. It’s a mental game more than other extreme sports.”

 

“I could probably get really into that,” Raleigh said, and grinned. “That’s why I like swimming, when you’re racing someone, doing an individual medley...part of it is fucking with them.” He felt itchy again, thinking of their upcoming season - they had the opportunity to be really good, if everyone kept their fitness up over the summer.

 

Chuck hummed to show that he was listening. Then he turned and started paddling again. “How’s my little stoner doing?” He ruffled Raleigh’s hair.

 

“I am not a stoner,” Raleigh replied, grinning. “I occasionally and recreationally make use of certain substances, that’s all…”

“Hey, kids!” Yancy called down. “We’d like to make it to the hotel before dark, if that’s OK with you?”

 

Chuck flipped him off over his head, then started making his way to shore with broad, lazy strokes. As he climbed out of the water and shook himself off, he said, “I’ve never…”

 

“What was that? Something you’ve never done?” Raleigh asked, eyes widening as he thought of the possibilities. A stoned little koala Chuck.

 

“You trying to say something, Becket?” Chuck said, but mildly. Not gonna yell at you again.

 

“Just, you have had many and varied life experiences,” Raleigh said, “and it’s fun to share something new with someone, right?”

 

Chuck shrugged. “I’d smoke with you,” he said. “I dunno, never really saw the draw. But if you think I’d enjoy it…”

 

“Well, it’s just...relaxing,” Raleigh said, walking out of the water and shaking his head like a dog. “I think you would like it. And if you don’t, well, then you know - and it’s with people you’re comfortable with, instead of experimenting at college and winding up in a dorm that you don’t even know where it is and getting sort of molested by some girl - you know, nevermind.”

 

“Shit, mate,” Chuck said, eyes wide. “You, uh, wanna talk about it?”

 

“Naw it was fine Yancy came and rescued me,” Raleigh said. “By molested I mean she sat in my lap and kept playing with my hair. No big thing. Cautionary tale, though. Ouch. We don’t have shoes and there are a lot of rocks.”

 

“I got roofied once in Spain, but I don’t remember any of it. I think it’s different from pot, though,” Chuck said thoughtfully.

 

“You got...really?” Raleigh said, skipping around, trying to avoid the largest rocks. “And you woke up with both your kidneys?”

 

“Yeah, just got my wallet jacked, and broke my phone, missed my flight, and woke up in a strange hostel being taken care of by a chick I didn’t know,” Chuck said, like it was nothing.

 

“Yes,” said Raleigh. “Uh, that is a perfectly normal thing that happens.” He pressed his lips together. This made him really want to take care of Chuck.

Fortunately, before he could vocalize it, they were at the top of the cliff and he was able to pull his shirt and shoes back on. “Hey, Tendo,” he said, and moved over so that he was close to Tendo. “I trust you’ve got the standard pharmacopoeia on you?”

 

Tendo looked over at Chuck. A slow smile spread over his face. “Step into my office,” he said, chuckling. “Back at the hotel, though.”

 

“Excellent,” Raleigh said, and he sort of bounced on his feet. “Let’s get going, then, yeah? We got everyone? Max? Pig?” He checked Max’s mouth for the pig. He squeaked it happily.

 

Chuck gathered his shoes and shirt under his arm and then scooped Max up with the other one, not bothering to redress when he knew he’d be naked again soon enough. “I might get your car wet, Becket. My boardies are still kinda damp.”

 

“We’re all kind of wet,” Raleigh said. “Except for Yancy and Mako.”

“I brought towels,” said Yancy. “Someone had to be responsible.” He rolled his eyes at both of them. “Let’s get going, come on…”

 

* * *

 

Raleigh closed the door to their hotel room and grinned at Chuck. “So, what was it you were going to do for me, since I jumped off the cliff?” He leaned in and kissed Chuck before he could respond, sucking slowly on his lower lip before he pulled back.

 

“I, uh,” Chuck said, gathering his thoughts as Raleigh pulled away. Then he grinned wickedly. “You get to pick, remember?” He palmed Raleigh’s ass.

 

“I’d like you to rim me,” Raleigh said. He reached and grabbed a handful of Chuck’s ass, remembering how he had done that last week, the noises that Chuck had made, how delicious it had been to make him feel like that.

 

“I’d really, really like that,” Chuck said in a low murmur, almost a rumble. “And you’re gonna really, really like when I do it to you.” He drew away and smacked Raleigh’s hip lightly. “Hands and knees on the bed.”

 

“Ooh, we’re just going to get right into it, huh?” Raleigh asked, and he slid out of his shorts and top and grinned at Chuck. He was definitely kind of high. Percosex.

 

Chuck braced his hands on Raleigh’s chest and backed him up until his knees hit the end of the bed and he sat down hard. He straddled Raleigh’s thighs and ran a possessive hand over his chest, tweaking his nipple. “You really wanna argue with me about this, Becket?”

 

“No, no arguing,” Raleigh said, and took the opportunity to lean forward and claim Chuck’s mouth again, kissing him long and deep. He put a hand on the strong muscle of his back and ran down, clasping his ass and groaning. “I love your ass,” he said, in his most sincere voice.

 

“I know you do, sweetheart,” Chuck said, smiling. “Keeping you focused is gonna be tricky here, I think.” He trailed his lips over Raleigh’s neck and down to his collarbone, where he sucked a dark bruise, one that wouldn’t be fading for some time. When he pulled away, his eyes were half-lidded. “I reckon I’m up for the challenge.”

 

“I’ll be very focused,” Raleigh said, and he nodded solemnly. _Sweetheart,_ he thought, and why had he never picked that one up before? “But I know you are, if…” He licked at his bottom lip and leaned back onto his arms, smiling at Chuck.

 

Chuck shifted down, dragging his mouth over Raleigh’s chest, swiping his tongue over his nipples and then scraping his teeth down until he was tonguing over his belly button. He pulled off Raleigh's shorts and palmed his cock, thumbing at the slit and then rubbing wider circles over the head. “You gonna get on your hands and knees now? Every second you don’t is another minute I add on to the time I’m gonna keep from letting you come.”

 

“Yeah, definitely,” Raleigh said, still groaning a bit from Chuck’s touch to his cock. He turned and crawled a bit on the bed and grabbed a pillow to make himself comfortable with, and then canted his ass in the air, arching his back to really present it to Chuck.

 

“So how’s it happen that you’ve only experienced the giving side of this? Doesn’t seem quite fair,” Chuck said, shucking off his shorts and sliding in behind Raleigh on the bed. He let his dick slide into the crease of Raleigh’s ass, rubbing it there kind of lazily as he leaned over him and mouthed at the back of his neck before sliding his mouth down his spine, laving his tongue over every individual vertebrae.

 

“Well, it’s like what I said about most guys wanting me to top,” Raleigh said, “and then, um, I realized that it was important to get the other person relaxed because...so I would do this, and...I asked, once, for someone I hadn’t done it to, and they didn’t want to, said it was...unappealling.” That had not been the word choice, but Raleigh wasn’t going to introduce it, given that Chuck was getting his mouth close to the area in question.

 

Chuck laughed. “You fucked some real winners, didn’t you,” he teased, finally settling between Raleigh’s legs. “S’kinda like what you were asking me, you know,” he said, prying apart Raleigh’s cheeks with his thumbs. His warm breath washed over Raleigh’s hole. “How’d I get so good at topping if I’d never bottomed, yeah? Well, there you go. I got good at topping same way you got good at rimjobs, I figure. You see what the other person likes. And mate, you’re gonna like this.” Finally, he lowered his mouth over Raleigh, licking him all the way from the base of his spine to his perineum with one long sweep of the tongue.

 

“I - fuck!” Raleigh said, feeling the warmth of Chuck’s tongue as it swept down the center of him. He was about to argue the point - he thought it was a little different, since it helped if you had felt a cock on your prostate when you topped, but, now was clearly not the time. “Oh, that’s really nice.”

 

Nice, he said. That wasn’t exactly as, uh, dirty as Chuck normally went with his speech, but he kind of liked it. Chuck muffled a laugh against his ass before poking his tongue out again, tracing it over Raleigh with the very tip. Then he pressed it in, just slightly into the tight ring of muscle. He smiled for no reason other than pure enjoyment, then screwed his tongue further in, flicking the tip of it in tiny jabs.

 

“Oh, God, Chuck, that’s fucking...that’s so amazing,” Raleigh breathed, because it was, Chuck sliding over all of those sensitive nerves and bringing them slowly to life. “That’s really good, I - oh, Chuck…” He was mostly babbling, and Chuck hadn’t even really got started. Raleigh shifted and put his elbows down, resting his head on the pillow.

 

Chuck smirked, breaching the rim with more of his tongue, swirling it inside until it was stretched enough that he could push his tongue as far as it will go, thrusting it in and out relentlessly. He sucked hard as he pulled away for breath, and placed one wet lick over the twitching hole as he moved off. “You taste bloody amazing, sweetheart,” he said, biting at Raleigh’s hip. His voice was low and hoarse as if he’d been gargling gravel. “And you sound even better.”

 

“Oh,” Raleigh said, because - OK? “You sound so good, too, uh...Chuck, and your mouth is…” He sighed, pressing himself back closer to Chuck’s mouth, wanting more contact. Should he have a cute name for Chuck? Sweetheart, love…they just didn’t seem quite right. He’d never been good at them, though. Also he wanted to keep his mouth shut because there was a distinct part of him that wanted to say something truly terrible, like wombat.

 

Chuck obligingly lowered his mouth onto Raleigh again, this time teasing more than thrusting in. He scraped his teeth gently over the sensitive rim, placing tiny kitten licks over it before entering him again, just barely. He spelled his first name with the tip of his tongue over it, then worked his tongue inside and circled it one way, then spelled his last name before entering him again to circle the other way. He sucked hard as he pulled his tongue out - then slid his finger inside and pressed it against his prostate, even while he massaged it from the outside as well. “You want me to let you come before I get inside you? Or should I make you wait until you need it so bad you can barely remember your own name, yeah?”

 

“I, um, I...you can pick, I’m not really…” Raleigh groaned as Chuck brought his tongue back into contact with his hole and moaned as he did something and twisted his tongue back in, long and deep. “Fucking Christ, Chuck, I...you are so good at this, oh my god.” Raleigh pulled a hand up and reached for his cock, which had started leaking and throbbing from Chuck’s attentions.

 

Chuck pulled away to say, “Alright, you can touch yourself.” He nuzzled the crease of Raleigh’s ass, smiling. “But you’re not allowed to come.” He moved his hand around in front and reached under Raleigh’s own, rolling his balls between his fingers.

He pressed himself over Raleigh’s back, moaning as his cock was pinned between his pelvis and Raleigh’s lower back with delicious pressure. “You get that, love?” He bit gently at the shell of Raleigh’s ear. “Can you do that for me?”

 

Raleigh’s cock twitched, hard, when Chuck rolled his balls and he groaned.

“I can,” Raleigh whispered, since Chuck was so close to him now and felt so good over top of him - he was so very nicely heavy. “You feel good like this, Chuck, you’re so…” He struggled, again, with an appropriate word in this instance. Sturdy seemed close but not quite. “You’re so big,” he settled on, since Chuck’s cock was hard and pressed against his skin.

 

Chuck muffled a laugh. Yeah, he did all right, but he was no eight inches. He shuffled back, then got off the bed to retrieve some lube from Raleigh’s bag. Coating his fingers, he brought his mouth down and swept his tongue over Raleigh one last down, biting gently on the rim as he pulled away. Then he pressed in two slicked fingers, and Raleigh’s body opened easily for them, relaxed while still being so bloody tight. Chuck groaned, palming his own cock while he worked his fingers inside Raleigh. “You’re so good for me, aren’t you?” he said. “So hot, the way you just open up for my cock. Can’t wait to get inside you.”

 

“I’m...fuck, I need you inside me,” Raleigh groaned, Chuck’s fingers were good but they weren’t enough. His voice was, though, deep and husky and just right, that accent was making him hard. He reached a hand forward and pulled at his own cock again. “I want to be so good for you.” He groaned the last little bit out.

 

Chuck wasn’t entirely prepared for the way Raleigh’s words hit him in the gut, a spike of heat and lust and pure affection that made his heart flutter with honest-to-God butterflies. He pressed an uncharacteristically soft kiss to Raleigh’s back, between his shoulder blades, and then added a third finger and twisted them, stroking them slowly over his prostate. “You’re so perfect, made just for me, all fucking mine.” He bit Raleigh’s shoulder, possessive and rough. “You ready?”

 

Raleigh sighed at the kiss from Chuck, tender and sweet, then groaned at the way his fingers pulled along his prostate. “All yours,” he agreed, “All yours and ready. How do you want me?” Chuck had bit him hard enough for it to leave a mark, and Raleigh flushed at the thought.

 

“Just like this,” Chuck said, running a greedy hand over his flank. He’d already fucked Raleigh once on his back, and now he wanted another view - that gorgeous ass, the shift of muscles on his back, all tawny skin and sun-bleached hair, the perfect length for Chuck to grip.

For once he had a clear enough head to think about grabbing a condom, but he put that thought of his mind just as quickly, both because he really was getting addicted to the feeling of Raleigh clenched around him, hot and slick, and because he didn’t want to offend Raleigh by suggesting it. So he slicked himself up with the hand still covered in lube and then pressed into Raleigh in one smooth, unrelenting push until he had bottomed out, where he rested for a minute, letting Raleigh adjust.

 

“Oh, fuck, fuck,” Raleigh groaned as Chuck moved into him in one deep, hard push. He put his forearms down and rested the head on the pillow to make it easier to hold his position and groaned at the feel of Chuck inside of him. He bottomed out easily and Raleigh pressed his ass against him, seeking that extra inch of contact, wanting to feel Chuck’s balls rest against him. “Fuck, you feel so good, Chuck,” he said.

Babe could work? he also thought, shifting slightly to adjust to Chuck’s girth.

 

Chuck bit his lip and pulled out a little before back in. He built up a slow, steady rhythm, letting his hands wander over Raleigh’s back. Traced his fingertips over the bowed mark in the shape of his teeth before moving down. When he reached Raleigh’s hips, he anchored his hands there, then pulled out of him - and thrust back in, rolling his hips the way he’d perfected. It was easier in this position because his knees were planted and he didn’t have to hold himself up, and he quickly found Raleigh’s prostate and angled his thrusts so he stroked across it with every thrust before twisting and pulling back out.

“God, you’re so bloody tight, I fucking - Your ass, Christ.” Chuck gave a throaty moan.

 

“Good,” Raleigh said. Chuck’s rhythm was maddening, and then he did that twist thing of his, angling and hitting his prostate perfectly. “Fuck, I’m so - Chuck, if you keep doing that I’m going to-” He was glad he didn’t have his hand on his cock any longer, or else it would have been all over. He thrust back a bit with his hips, anticipating Chuck’s movements, and moaned, long and deep, into the pillow. “That feels so fucking good, I’m…”

 

“That’s kinda the idea, love,” Chuck laughed, speeding up, losing some of the finesse in exchange for added force behind his thrusts. He moved one of his hands up to weave through Raleigh’s hair, just because he liked being able to manhandle his partners into the position he wanted. Raleigh was already there, though, his back arched, knees spread apart just right, that ass clenching around him. Chuck groaned, starting to feel himself come undone. “But you don’t get to come until you ask, remember? You gotta ask nice for me, yeah?”

 

“I know,” Raleigh said, and spread his knees a little further to try and get Chuck deeper into him. Chuck’s speed was increasing, so Raleigh figured he must be getting close himself. “I want to come, Chuck, can I please come?” he asked, and wasn’t even ashamed at the whimper that was in his voice because, fuck, everything in him was wound tight and getting tighter and he needed that release.

 

“Not yet,” Chuck said, licking his lips. “Just a bit longer, I know you can.” Raleigh wasn’t wrong, though, Chuck was drawing closer, and his hips stuttered, losing the smoothness of their rhythm. He slammed into Raleigh, restraining himself only slightly because he remembered Raleigh’s preferences from last time but he just couldn’t fucking help himself, it was so good, so fucking tight, and he was chasing his own orgasm with each roll of his hips. “You’re so good, sweetheart, doing so well, just a bit more.” His breathing was labored, voice strained on the last words, everything coiling low in his belly.

 

Raleigh, remembering the reaction he had got earlier, repeated the phrase, “I want to be good for you, Chuck, that feels amazing, you’re so fucking good…” Chuck was rolling into him, fast, making Raleigh’s whole body shake with the motion of his hips slamming into him. “Your cock, I need…please, Chuck…” Raleigh was going to come without touching himself, he could feel it, he was so achingly close and just needed that little extra push over the edge.

 

_That’s fucking right, I’m amazing_ , Chuck thought, and he might have even said it only he was beyond speech for the moment, just moaning wordlessly, punctuated by hitches of breath with every thrust. Just, that phrase - I want to be good for you - it hit all his buttons, a live wire under his skin.

“Yeah, love,” he said, and pulled his hand away from Raleigh’s hair. He pulled out nearly all the way, then smacked Raleigh’s ass, hard and stinging, before snapping his hips back in, brutally rough. “Come for me.”

 

“Oh, fuck, oh fuck,” Raleigh said, and even he was amazed at how just those words made all the difference - or, well, maybe it was the spanking. His skin vibrated with it, the way that it was timed with the command, how he had to obey because of some very basic desire. He really, really did want to be good for Chuck.

His orgasm was long and hard, tugging him apart in all of the right ways and going from his cock to his spine to his fingers and his toes. “Oh, fuck, that’s...oh, oh…” It ended in a long, drawn out moan as Chuck kept fucking into him, brutal and rough.

 

Some primal need overtook Chuck’s body, and as soon as he felt himself start to come, he pulled out and jerked himself through it, coming in stripes all over Raleigh’s lower back. The sight of it was - Fuck, if Chuck could possibly get hard again, he would, just from that.

He pulled out and fell onto his side, physically rolling Raleigh over onto his back. “You are,” he started, scooting up and kissing Raleigh messily, still out of breath, “so, so good for me.” He caught Raleigh’s lower lip between his teeth and tugged gently before pulling away.

 

“Good,” Raleigh said, though he was a little...he wasn’t entirely thrilled with Chuck coming all over his back, but there was nothing he could do about it now. He kissed Chuck back, a little slower, and sighed. “That was…” he nodded his head. “That was really fucking great, babe.”

There. He’d done it. No worse than sweetheart, right? He widened his eyes as he looked at Chuck, who still looked like he was dazed and incoherent. Even better.

 

Chuck looked at him for a moment, trying to place what was different. “Huh,” he said, once it sunk in. He stood up, yawning, and walked to the bathroom for a damp washcloth. When he returned, his expression had cleared of its fogginess, and he sat on the edge of the bed and held out the washcloth, wordlessly offering to clean Raleigh off.

 

“Mmm,” Raleigh said, hoping that - oh, Chuck probably didn’t like it. That was definitely what the _huh_ meant. “So, no?” He rolled onto his stomach to give access to Chuck to his back. If anyone had to sleep in the moist spot tonight, it was going to be Chuck.

 

“Nah, s’fine,” Chuck said, running the washcloth over him. He went back into the bathroom and dug out his toothbrush, because as much as he liked rimming Raleigh…

He leaned out the door, toothbrush stuck in his mouth. “Just like the way you say my name, you know? But babe works too, if you want.”

 

“Well, you have ones for me,” Raleigh replied, letting his eyes skim over Chuck’s naked body, taking in all of the things he really liked about it - the ginger hair on his chest, those fucking deltoids, his cock. He stretched and smiled at Chuck.

 

“Yeah, well,” Chuck said, and shrugged. He tugged on a pair of low-hanging sweats, then walked to the bed. “I’m going to grab Max. Need anything from the other room, sweetheart?” He grinned, showing that the use of the term had been intentional. It had started just as a sweet nothing to call Raleigh during sex, but now - Well, he wasn’t sure.

 

“Did you forget?” Raleigh asked. “Tendo’s been waiting for us.” He noted that Chuck used it outside of them having sex, which...no, no, no, he told himself. Especially not after the other night.

 

Chuck blinked. “Forget… what?” He couldn’t recall having promised anything, and groaned inwardly at the idea of spending time with all of them when really he just wanted to pass out.

 

“Oh, we can do it tomorrow,” Raleigh said, “because you probably just want to pass out, right? No worries…” He was looking forward to getting Chuck high. Was that a bad thing?

 

“Mate, I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Chuck said, rubbing his eyes. “Am I getting dressed, or…?”

 

“Nope,” Raleigh said, and waved his hand. “Don’t worry about it. Just go and get Max.”

 

“Okay,” Chuck agreed, casting Raleigh a wary glance. “If you, uh, say so.” He shook his head and went to go pick up Max in the other room. Maybe he’d ask Tendo, he thought. Sounded like he had some idea what was going on.

 

Raleigh stretched again and then went into the bathroom to brush his own teeth. It still wasn’t that late in the evening, but he could probably sack out - or, at least, find something to watch on television. Chuck’s whole thing was a little odd...you really had to schedule your sex, if it was going to have that effect on you.

Fuck, he thought, because the Percocet was a lot longer acting than he remembered.

 

Chuck retrieved Max with minimal fanfare, and realized what Raleigh was talking about even as he was opening his mouth to ask Tendo. He returned to their room and waited on the bed for Raleigh to be done in the bathroom, sitting cross-legged with Max on his lap.

“Tomorrow, yeah?” he said when Raleigh emerged. “I - If you want, I could probably…”

 

“Probably what?” Raleigh asked, and he bounced onto the bed and put his face right in Max’s. Max squeaked the pig and Raleigh laughed.

 

“Probably wake up if I tried,” Chuck said. “I’ve pulled all-nighters before, s’not bad.” He stretched. Though, he was gonna need coffee if he was actually committing to this.

 

“Naw, we’re gonna go to sleep,” Raleigh said. “I completely forgot, I’m sorry. Not like Tendo was really waiting for us, anyway, if I know him…” he reached and squeezed Chuck’s thigh and smiled at him.

 

Chuck yawned again. “No drama,” he said. He curled up where he was, on top of the covers, and lifted his arm to allow Max the freedom to move around on the bed. The movement made his sweatpants slide so low he had to catch them and tug them back up to keep from flashing his junk at Raleigh, and even then, curly reddish hair peeked out from over the waistline.

He didn’t seem to care much. “Well, night then,” he said, leaning over to kiss Raleigh. “And, uh, thanks for cliff diving for me. It was real sweet, if totally unnecessary.”

 

“I might have sort of liked it,” Raleigh said, and he reached and ran his fingers through the hair exposed by Chuck’s sweatpants. He twisted some of it into a little kinky peak and then smiled. “C’mon, Max, let’s find a movie to watch.”

 

“You two have fun,” Chuck said, flapping his hand. “But no horror flicks, those give him nightmares.” He smiled and rolled up in a loose ball, using his own arm as a pillow. He was asleep within the minute, evidenced by the easy rise and fall of his chest.

 

“Right, then, Max,” Raleigh, and the dog looked at him. “I am thinking romantic comedy - yes, good, of course it’s a good idea…”


	10. Chapter 10

Raleigh woke up first and decided to go for it, especially since Chuck was spooning with Max. Also because Chuck had come on him last night. So he rolled over, slowly, and then slotted himself in right behind Chuck.

He didn’t wake up, and Raleigh grinned, wrapping an arm around his naked waist. He kissed lightly at the back of his neck.

 

Chuck swatted at him drowsily, but after a moment, he just relaxed against Raleigh’s body, seeking his warmth. He might not have woken up at all, except his shift backwards brought Max along with him, and Max woke up and squirmed out of his arms to hop off the bed and retrieve his pig from the floor, where it had fallen sometime in the night.

Chuck took a moment, eyes blinking open, awareness of his surroundings setting in. He twisted his head to look at Raleigh behind him. “Rals,” he said. “What’re you doing?”

 

“Um,” Raleigh said, and he gave Chuck an innocent expression like, what, who, me? “I am spooning you,” he said, and grinned at the squeaking sound of the pig.

 

“Uh, okay,” Chuck said, stretching as well as he could without moving away, because this seemed to matter, to Raleigh? Apparently? “Well, uh, you let me know how that goes.”

 

Raleigh sighed and rolled back over. “It went well,” he said. He reached over a rubbed a hand over Chuck’s stomach, though, because it was muscular and furry. He traced a finger down his happy trail.

 

Chuck opened his eyes and looked down, watching Raleigh’s hand. “You planning on going anywhere with that?” he asked, voice still hoarse from sleep. He was half-hard in his sweats, like most mornings, and Raleigh’s touch sent warm sparks down his belly.

 

“Like where?” Raleigh asked, and pulled his hand up and circled Chuck’s navel with his finger. “Anywhere in particular you’re interested in?” He was about to explore the possibilities when Max put his hands and head up on the bed and grunted at them. “Aw, can’t you get up on your own, buddy?”

 

“Not if you’re gonna jack me off, he can’t,” Chuck said, pushing off Raleigh’s hand. He sat up and lifted Max up onto the bed, nuzzling his forehead before placing a soft kiss to it. “You jealous, boy? Different puppy’s taking up my attention, huh.”

Max panted happily and licked him right across the mouth.

 

Raleigh shook his head and got up out of bed because he had to piss - and Chuck and Max looked like they were having a moment. “It’s just because I was opposable thumbs and an eight inch dick, Max,” he said.

 

“Shh, you’ll taint his virgin ears,” Chuck said, pretending to glare at him. He gathered Max and the pig up in his arms and lay back down, smiling down at Max as he stroked him behind the ears. “And I gotta say, it’d be pretty weird if Max had an eight inch dick.”

 

“Maybe?” Raleigh said, coming back to bed. “Some animals, you know, it’s all tucked away until it’s time, so you’d never know. Like ducks.” He stroked Max’s butt, right above where he stumpy tail was.

 

“I’ve seen Max…” Chuck started, and shook his head. “And Max definitely doesn’t have a prehensile corkscrew penis.” Ducks were so fucked up.

 

“I’m sorry, Max,” said Raleigh. “Having a prehensile dick might be interesting. Though I doubt it would impact your quality of life…”

 

“You tell me, Becket,” Chuck said, and grinned. “You think you’d be a happier bloke with a prehensile penis?”

 

“It isn’t?” Raleigh asked, and looked down at his boxer briefs and frowned.

 

Chuck made a quiet gagging sound. “Eight inches is enough, I’m not looking for a fucking tentacle up my arse on top of that.” He gave his own dick a fond pat, then hitched up his sweatpants again before they could slide down even more.

 

Raleigh wrinkled his face at the addition of tentacles into the discourse, then leaned over when he heard his phone buzzing, not sure who could want his attention this early. “Ah,” he said, and showed the screen to Chuck. _Bought loads of donut holes, suggest Wake and Bake,_ Yancy wrote.

 

Chuck tilted his head to the side. “Wake and Bake?” he said, confused and not thrilled about it, because clearly this was something he should know about.

 

“Yes,” said Raleigh. “Where you wake up and immediately smoke pot. And then, apparently, eat a large amount of donut holes.” He paused. “That’s impressive, actually, Yance must have been up at 8 to get donut holes…”

 

“Oh,” said Chuck, a bit annoyed at himself for not having worked that out on his own. He nodded. “Okay, so we’re gonna, with them…” He looked down. “Do I have to get dressed now?”

 

“Yeah, for now?” Raleigh said. “Then I can suck you off later and we can take a nap together.”

 

Chuck gave a happy sigh. “Christ, I love your mouth,” he said. He went through his bag and pulled out a tank top, which he pulled on before turning to Raleigh. “Good enough, or…?”

If it were anyone other than Mako, Yancy, and company, Chuck would have tried harder not to be a slob. But he was feeling lazy, and he figured that smoking pot in a hotel room wouldn’t be the most formal event around, so baggy sweats and a tank top should be fine. Although he was gonna have to be careful, going commando like this. Not as much of an issue as it would be for Raleigh, but still.

 

“You look good,” Raleigh said, more purred. The shirt emphasized Chuck’s broad shoulders and he liked being able to see the outline of his cock in his sweats when he shifted the right way. Raleigh tugged on his own sweatpants and a stupid logo t-shirt, then reached forward and grasped Chuck’s cock through the cotton. He pumped lightly then traced a finger down the length. “Real good.”

 

“Alright, never mind, then,” Chuck said, laughing and squirming away. He pulled off his sweats and on a pair of boxer briefs before tugging his sweats back up. “If you’re gonna be teasing me this whole time, I’d rather not pop a boner in my trackies, thanks.”

 

“Probably prudent,” Raleigh said, though he sighed. He’d screwed up that opportunity. “C’mon, Max,” he said, and then grinned when Max hopped off of the bed and followed him over to the door.

 

Chuck followed Raleigh out the door. Right as they reached the other suite, he caught Raleigh around the middle and spun him around, pushing him up against the wall. He dragged down his collar and grinned at the sight of his hickeys on Raleigh’s skin. “That’s gonna be fun to explain,” he said, sliding his hand around Raleigh’s shoulder, over where he knew his bite mark lingered under the shirt.

 

“Yeah,” Raleigh said, though fondly. There were three or four distinct ones on his neck besides the bite mark. “Not hard, though. Pretty self-explanatory, actually? I like it,” he muttered the last part, ducking his head down slightly.

 

“There is no way you like it as much as I do,” Chuck said in a low murmur, biting his lip against the heat that shot through him at the sight of his marks on Raleigh’s skin - claiming, like a goddamn brand. It was beautiful.

He shook it off, stepping away. “What, you’re gonna tell a bunch of eight-year-olds you got your neck sucked on by your vampire boyfriend? That’s ballsy.”

First time said aloud, he realized. Wasn’t too nervous about Raleigh’s response, though. He was very positive Raleigh wanted this as much as he did.

 

“I blame everything on bears,” Raleigh said. “They’re eight, they don’t know any better…”

He grinned and looked at Chuck - the possessiveness in his eyes put a shiver down his spine. Fuck, he thought. Though he still wasn’t too happy about the coming on his back thing. “Though, um…” He paused, and pressed his lips together, not wanting to sour the morning. “Maybe not, uh, come on me?” He winced, not sure how Chuck would take it.

 

Chuck started back, face going blank. He blinked. “Uh, I,” he said, a little confused but not wanting to show it.

He wondered where the line was, for Raleigh. It didn’t make sense to him to be allowed to come in someone but not on them, or like - what was the difference between biting him and - fuck, at least come could be wiped off. It didn’t seem entirely… rational to him.

“Sure,” he said, because, well, consent and all. Besides, he’d already seen it once, and that was enough to stock his spank bank. But it still threw him a little. He wondered if there was anything else Raleigh had let him get away with during sex that he hadn’t liked, and frowned at the idea, rubbing the spot on his own neck where he’d left marks on Raleigh’s.

 

“That’s the first time, uh, anything has happened where...and I know it’s weird!” Raleigh said, seeing Chuck’s face. Though he was amazed that he just agreed to it, didn’t say anything back. His little wombat was growing up. “Just, I don’t know, the feel when it…” He shrugged his shoulders, drawing into himself. He tried to judge Chuck’s face. “Sorry.”

 

“You’re allowed to not like sex things,” Chuck said, some humor bleeding back into his voice, mostly because of Raleigh’s statement that he’d liked everything else so far. “There’s plenty of shit that gets other people off that turns me off.” Part of being a conscientious sex partner was listening to that.

Still, he turned away, rubbing his hand over his mouth. He hadn’t been thinking enough about that, and that irritated him, because he prided himself in… But if Raleigh was telling the truth, then -

Dammit, he’d have to be more careful in the future. Ask first, and shit.

 

“Chuck…” Raleigh said, not wanting him to be upset. This was supposed to be a fun morning. “It’s really not - just, it’s a stupid thing and…” He leaned in and kissed Chuck on the mouth, hoping that he would understand what Raleigh was trying to say.

 

Chuck allowed the kiss, but shook his head as Raleigh pulled away. “Becket,” he said, “stop apologizing for having certain, uh, preferences. You have to be willing to tell me what you want. I mean, am I that…?” Was he really so forceful and domineering in bed that Raleigh felt pressured into doing shit, or felt like his own wishes didn’t matter - or whatever the deal was, Chuck wasn’t sure.

 

“I just don’t want you to be upset with me,” Raleigh said. “I’m definitely willing to tell you what I want. More than.” He gave Chuck an uncertain smile, suddenly feeling like he should be more forceful and less of a...wet noodle? Wimp?

 

Chuck sighed. That reflex - I don’t want you to be upset with me… he understood it to an extent, because he’d definitely been working harder than normal to get Yancy’s approval. But at the same time, he couldn’t comprehend sacrificing his own wishes for the sake of someone else liking him. This eager-to-please, need-to-be-liked thing… What was that? Why did some people have so much anxiety over somebody else not liking them?

Fuck, like he had any right to be judging Raleigh “I am literally perfect” Becket’s flaws.

“I’m not upset,” he said. “And I don’t want… It’s good you told me.” He reached up and touched Raleigh’s face.

 

“OK,” Raleigh said. “I should have mentioned it sooner.” He sighed at Chuck’s touch and gave him a soft smile. He could see the wheels spinning in Chuck’s head, though, and he sort of knew what it was about. A lot of times Raleigh wished that he was bullheaded like Chuck was, plowing forward and giving absolutely no fucks as long as he got what he wanted. But he just couldn’t. It had always mattered to him what people thought of him, whether they liked him - or it was probably linked to all the bullying he experienced from thirteen to sixteen.

The door to the suite opened and Mako’s head popped out. “Oh,” she said. “You are right there. Are you coming or not?”

“Coming,” Raleigh said, and then sort of grinned at Chuck. More on that later.

 

Chuck nudged Max inside and then followed. He sat in an empty chair, pulling his knees up. “Wow,” he said, looking up and seeing the saran wrap they had taped over the smoke detector. “That is…”

“I keep forgetting you haven’t been to college, and then you do shit like that,” Tendo said, expertly rolling a joint at the desk. He licked his thumb and swiped it over the paper to seal it.

Chuck scowled.

 

“This is good, though,” Yancy said. “We’ll make you an expert by the time you get to MIT. Besides, I’d only drank beer before I got to school, so, it’s not like it’s unusual. And Raleigh-”

Raleigh put a hand over Yancy’s mouth and scowled at him. “Let’s get this going, yeah?” he said.

 

Chuck looked at him, head cocked to the side. “Now you’ve got me curious,” he said. “And you know I’m gonna work it out of you, so it’ll be easier for everyone if you just tell me now.”

 

“Nothing, just, I hadn’t done anything until I got to Amherst,” Raleigh said. “Drink, smoke - including cigarettes…”

“Fuck,” Yancy added.

Raleigh rolled his eyes. “Yes, that as well.”

“Really?” Alona and Sasha asked, both looking at Raleigh curiously. He shrugged his shoulders.

“You’d think three years on a men’s swimming team would help him realize he was gay, but, no, it took college,” Yancy said. “That’s why you don’t disparage the liberal arts.” He nodded. “Light the joint, Tendo.”

 

Tendo obligingly lit the end of the joint, taking a deep drag from it at the same time so it would catch. He smiled, holding it in his lungs and blowing it out in a stream. He took another hit, and this time, opened his mouth in a circle and blew it out in a ring shape.

“Wow,” Chuck said again. “I am so, so unsurprised.”

“Your turn, Baby Hansen,” Tendo said, passing him the joint.

Chuck took it and stared at it, wanting to look up at Raleigh for help - but not in front of everyone, so he licked his lips and consciously kept from looking up.

 

“Like a cigarette,” Raleigh said. “Make sure you pull it deep - you’ve got the lung capacity, just like taking a big breath before a free dive.”

Yancy ruffled his hair. “Look at that - my little bro, all grown up, teaching someone else to smoke pot. Almost brings a tear to my eye.”

“You’re both dickwads,” Raleigh said to Yancy and Tendo. “And you should probably roll another one, given how many of us there are.”

 

“Please,” Tendo said, shooting him a look of pure scorn. “You really think two is gonna be enough?” He pulled out a ziploc bag and set to work on the next joint. Then he laughed. “Besides, that one’s just for Baby Hansen.”

Chuck, midway through raising the joint to his lips, spluttered. “You really are dickwads,” he said, and took a drag. He didn’t have trouble inhaling the smoke in, but he only held it for a few seconds before he started coughing, deep and raspy. “Fuck,” he choked out.

“Gotta breathe past it,” Tendo said absently, more focused on his hands than Chuck. “What, you can’t handle a fucking joint? Weak sauce, Hansen.”

Chuck narrowed his eyes. _I know your game, Choi_ , he seemed to be saying, but all the same, he took another drag and held it again.

And again, started coughing after a few seconds.

“That is okay,” Mako said, quietly reassuring. “Coughing means you are doing it right.”

Chuck, eyes tearing up, declined to respond.

 

“Seriously,” Raleigh said. “That’s good. You want to, uh, pass it along?” He held his hand out, kind of eager for the joint. Fuck, it had been awhile since he’d smoked, and he didn’t really like that he liked it, but...well, it helped calm his nerves. Soothed whatever it was that was always nagging him in the back of his head.

“Watch out for this one, Chuck,” Yancy said. “He gets giggly.”

“And cuddly,” Tendo added.

 

“Shocker,” Chuck said, handing Raleigh the joint. “I am just… shocked.”

Tendo laughed. He passed another joint to Alona and got to work on a third. One of them would probably be for him and Yancy, and everyone else could share two.

 

Raleigh inhaled, tugging the smoke down deep, and held for as long as possible - and it was a long time, since he watched as Alona inhaled once, then twice, and coughed herself.

“Out of practice,” she said, holding the joint over to Imogene.

Raleigh exhaled slowly and smiled, then tugged down another long, deep hit before passing the joint to Mako. He watched Tendo out of the corner of his eye - no doubt he and Yancy were going to keep the third one for themselves. They really were dickwads, and smoking only amplified it. Good thing Mako was also a giggler.

 

Chuck watched quietly from his seat, gaze flicking between the three joints and the people smoking them. He accepted the joint from Mako and took another hit, and then recalled a phrase he’d picked up somewhere (puff puff pass, right?) and took another drag, inhaling deeply before handing it back to Raleigh. The coughing wasn’t getting any better, and he idly had to wonder when this experience was going to get good, because so far, it just sucked.

“Let it happen,” Mako said. “You will not notice you are high until you are very high.”

“She’s right,” Tendo said. “First time Yance got high, he spent the entire time telling everyone that he wasn’t - and that _they_ weren’t either, for some reason - and then he ate an entire pizza by himself.” He pointed around at everyone in term, mimicking Yancy’s voice. “You’re not high, and you’re not high, and you’re not high…”

 

“That is a terrible impersonation,” Yancy said, taking the thick joint from Tendo and smoking. Raleigh narrowed his eyes when he passed it back to Tendo - they thought they were so clever, didn’t they? Pulled this all the time at parties.

He took another long drag when he got one of the joints and smiled at Alona, sitting across from him. She had already stretched her legs out and was leaning back on her arms, still wearing a pair of short pajama shorts and a tank top. Fuck, Raleigh thought, how had he not known he was gay? “Is this your cousin’s stuff?” he asked Tendo, passing a joint on and then finding himself in possession of another.

 

“Yes, and don’t give me that look,” Tendo said to Raleigh, smirking around the joint. “You know Mako and Chuckles are gonna get blazed after two hits, and Imogene is a self-professed lightweight. Me and Yancy have a higher tolerance than you lot. It’s a harsh cross to bear, and yet…” He shook his head sadly.

Chuck would protest, but he was a little afraid if he opened his mouth he would just start giggling and never stop.

 

“I am not entirely sure that is something to be proud of,” Mako said, voice completely stern.

“Did you call him Chuckles?” Raleigh asked, offended on Chuck’s behalf. “How very creative, Choi.”

“I am not a lightweight,” Alona said, from the other side of the room.

“Nor am I,” said Sasha, with a hard stare in Tendo’s direction.

 

“The tension mounts,” Chuck drawled, smiling languidly, eyes tracking everyone like a tennis match, bouncing from speaker to speaker.

“Fine, fine,” Tendo sighed. “My plan was to keep rolling joints until everyone is as high as they want to be, but somehow this has become high drama and that is not the point of lighting up.” He didn’t say it, but he hadn’t thought for a second that Sasha was a lightweight. But like Mako said, that didn’t exactly sound like a compliment, so…

 

Raleigh shook his head at him - and he wondered why he never did particularly well with women. He always seemed to come out on the wrong side of things, misjudging a situation and then getting defensive about it.

“Oh, Tendo,” said Yancy, and he wrapped an arm around him. “Don’t spoil the fun - roll the ladies one, and then we will eat the donuts. Did Max have breakfast?”

 

Chuck shook his head. “Dog food’s in our room, though. I can…” he said, and then made no motion towards getting up.

 

“I will go and get it,” Raleigh said, and he pat Chuck on the shoulder. He had a hazy look in his eyes and the easiest, laziest smile that Raleigh had ever seen on Chuck’s face. Not that he should encourage drug use, but...Chuck could probably use a day blitzed out.

And Raleigh could introduce him to how very nice and languid it could be to get sucked off when you were stoned. “Be right back,” he said, and checked to make sure Max had his pig before he left. Max seemed largely confused by what they were up to, looking at them with huge eyes while he squeaked his pig in the corner.

 

Chuck almost waved as Raleigh left, and that was what clued him in that this might be working on him. Huh. But the rest of the things that he’d heard about - the munchies, was it? And cotton-mouth, and dizziness - he wasn’t feeling any of it, and he wondered if he was just immune.

Mako came up beside Chuck’s chair, perching on the arm. “How are you feeling, Chuck?”

“Good,” Chuck said after a moment of careful deliberation. “Yeah… good.”

“Wonderful.” She smiled at him, and after a moment, decided to test exactly how far his geniality ran by wrapping an arm around his neck and pressing a kiss to his head.

Chuck leaned into her. “Weirdo,” he said, but fondly.

She laughed and slung her other arm around his neck, holding him in a loose embrace. “My little Charlie,” she said.

“You’re like, four months older than me,” he said, grumbling at the diminutive.

 

Raleigh opened the door and paused for a moment, watching as Mako and Chuck cuddled each other. Super adorable. Exactly what he hoped for.

Max immediately jumped to attention, somehow smelling his dish or the tupperware of his food or something. “That’s right, buddy, breakfast,” Raleigh said. “Do you call it breakfast in Australia?” he asked, measuring out just slightly less than Chuck told him Max got to eat, because that dog got a fuckton of table scraps and Chuck would be devastated if he died early from obesity related health problems.

 

“Breakfast, brekkie, whatever,” Chuck said. “We’re a country of infants.” He shook his head. Australian slang was totally ridiculous, and even he acknowledged it.

 

“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Imogene drawled, putting the last joint down and leaning into Alona.

“Oh, do not even,” said Alona. “We conquered your country thousands of years ago.” She said something in Danish, then, and Raleigh wasn’t entirely sure that it needed to be translated.

“Danes were Vikings?” Tendo asked. Alona just shook her head at him.

“OK, now that we got that out of our system,” Raleigh said, picking up Max’s bowl after he inhaled his breakfast and setting it on the counter to the kitchenette. “Aw, who is a good wrinkly boy? Where’s your pig?”

 

“S’over there,” Chuck said, getting off his chair to go retrieve Max’s pig from under the bedside table. Once there, he figured - well, why not, because he had literally zero interest in whatever the girls were arguing about, and sat down so he could play with Max on the floor. He teased Max, dangling the pig over his face, and then letting Max snatch it before trying to wrestle it away. Max let out a little rumbling sound of displeasure and tackled him in the effort to get it back, making Chuck laugh from pure delight as he was knocked on his back from Max’s weight. He sat up, letting Max settle into his lap, and rubbed him behind the ears with a goofy smile.

“You’re the best wrinkly boy,” he confided to Max in a whisper.

 

Raleigh took a few steps back, giving Chuck the moment with his dog. It was fucking adorable, Chuck carefully teasing Max and then getting completely bowled over by him because Max was not stoned.

He settled down next to Mako, and she sort of flopped into him and gave him a wide, big grin. Tendo was right - Mako was a lightweight. Raleigh always wondered why everyone thought it was such a bad thing. You saved so much money, either on booze, or weed, or whatever. “Hey Mori,” he said. “How goes it?”

 

She wrinkled her nose. “Very sad,” she said. “You have your Chuck and Alona has her… Chuck. But my Chuck is very stupid, and cannot schedule anything correctly. Very sad.” She shook her head.

 

“Yancy is a Chuck?” Raleigh asked. “Wait - and who is your Chuck?” Might as well get information out of her when she was willing to give it out.

 

“Yes, of course,” she said, eyes wide. “Think about it, hm? They did not get along because they are too alike. New theory. And now they have accepted their similarity, and they will soon merge into one superpowered… asshole.”

 

“That makes no sense, Mori,” Raleigh said, hoping the use of her last name would focus her. “Who is merging into who?”

 

“Chuck and Yancy, joining forces, like Captain Planet.” She pressed her knuckled fists together. “Ring powers combine.”

“This is hilarious,” Chuck said, apparently having been listening in. “When they make a movie of my life, I want Mako as the lead screenwriter.”

 

“Me too,” Raleigh said. “You have to have four rings for Captain Planet - or five. I think it’s five, right? Earth, wind, water, fire-”

“And the poor fuck who gets stuck with heart,” said Yancy, leaning in. “They just completely gave up there, too, couldn’t even think of another earth-like element, fuck, metal, or...no. Heart.”

 

“They pulled it off better in that kids show about colonization and imperialism and, uh, giant turtles,” Chuck said, because that’s really all he remembered of that show.

Max licked his neck, and he scrunched him behind the neck and smiled.

 

“Giant turtles?” Raleigh asked, and then shook his head. “Nevermind. It probably happened. But you never answered, Mako, who is your Chuck?” He put his hand on her arm and gave her a smile.

 

Mako shot him a serene, narrow-eyed smile. “You think you are sneaky,” she said. “Those puppy eyes only get you so far, Becket. Careful not to use it too much, or your Chuck will become immune.”

 

“He’s not my Chuck,” Raleigh said. “He’s _the_ Chuck,” he leaned in so only she could hear, “and why is it a secret, Mako?” It better not be Yancy - it couldn’t be, right? Yancy was Alona’s Chuck.

 

Chuck’s eyes had gone wide when Raleigh spoke, because - wait, he wasn’t? But he smiled with Raleigh’s second sentence, more relieved than he’d like to let on.

“It is not a secret, Raleigh,” Mako returned equally quietly. “I am not shouting it from the rooftops or - more pertinently, making out in public at every available opportunity, but I am not hiding anything.”

 

“Right, that’s understandable,” Raleigh said. “So you can tell me, Mako, we’re friends. Maybe I can offer you advice.” He narrowed his eyes at her, considering something. “Am I making out in public at every available opportunity?”

 

“You are not _not_ making out in public at every available opportunity,” she said, smiling.

“Trust me, Mori,” Chuck said, rolling surprisingly gracefully to his feet. “That’s not even remotely true. We’re skipping out on so many more opportunities for public make-outs.” He pressed a wet, smacking kiss to Raleigh’s cheek.

 

“It is true,” said Raleigh, grinning at Chuck. “Don’t let Chuck derail you, though. How about this - you do not need to say who your, uh, Chuck is...but what is making you sad? I hate to see you sad…” He glanced around the room, pleased to see that Yancy and Tendo were talking and laughing with Alona, Imogene, and Sasha - though Yancy and Alona weren’t acting like they had seen each other’s naughty bits.

 

“Cheung is my Chuck,” Mako said, rolling her eyes. “And I already told you, he is very stupid and cannot schedule correctly, and that is making me sad. Stop looking at me like I have been having a scandalous affair with your brother behind everyone’s backs.”

Chuck went to sit on the bed by Imogene, reaching over until Yancy passed him a box of donut holes.

 

“See, told you,” Yancy said, handing Chuck the donut holes. “Now you are prepared for all of the social situations you might face at college.” He popped a donut hole in his mouth and smiled.

 

“Sex, check. Pot, check. Taking care of stoned toddlers, check.” Chuck ate a donut hole and frowned at his hand. “I’m eating donuts for breakfast. I feel like I should be more grossed out than I am.”

 

“Chuck, Chuck, they are not donuts,” Yancy said, taking another donut hole from the box - he had bought 100- “they are _donut holes._ Also...when else would you eat donuts?”

 

“I guess,” Chuck said, but he didn’t seem convinced. “S’no worse than eating butter coated in brown sugar, which I’ve done, so -” He pursed his lips.

 

“Yes, excellent, see,” said Yancy. “Also, these are like...little perfect bursts of sweet and cake and...why did you do that?”

 

Do not, under any circumstances, make a joke about being the fat kid in high school, Chuck told himself. “Mountaineering,” he said, and patted his belly. “Calories good. Fainting from running out of calories bad. No energy for body to heat self, very bad.”

 

“Ah, yes,” said Yancy, and he nodded his head. “Still, seems an odd choice - didn’t you have high powered energy bars or something? Extreme Power Edge Cliff things?” Yancy glanced down at his stomach and shook his head.

 

“Nothing like pure butter for calories per unit, especially when factoring cost into it.” Chuck said. “I’m pretty sure that made sense. It made sense in my head.” He ate another donut hole. “Butter is cheap.”

 

“I could not eat a stick of butter, brown sugar or not,” said Yancy. “Thank god for donut holes, amen.” He glanced over and smiled as Raleigh and Mako cuddled together, discussing something that was no doubt incredibly important and interesting.

 

“Donut holes would not be ideal for mountaineering,” Chuck said. “Is butter a carb? I need water.” He wandered over to the kitchenette, sticking his head under the sink to drink water straight out of the faucet.

 

“Chuck!” Raleigh said. “No, Chuck!” He tried to stand up but got tangled up in Mako and giggled as he fell back down onto the couch.

 

Chuck wandered back into the room. “That sounded dramatic,” he said. “I would literally kill for a Polly Waffle right now.” He sat down heavily on the ground, burying his face in Max’s neck when he ran over to say hello.

 

“Tap water no,” Raleigh said, grinning as Chuck cuddled into Mako. She was very cuddly when she actually became pliant. “Brain eating amoebas.”

“I have some Jaffa Cakes?” Imogene said. “I think they are sort of the same?”

 

“Seriously?” Chuck said to both of them. “I’ll share my Cadbury’s in exchange,” he told Imogene, and then to Raleigh, “Are you seriously that paranoid? I should take you back home to Oz, give you shit to really worry about.”

 

“Actually,” Mako said. “Someone got them from the tap water around here last summer.” She nodded her head. “Raleigh is just looking out for you.”

“And your brain!” Raleigh added. “You have a good brain.”

“Deal, Hansen,” said Imogene, and she stood and retrieved the cookies from her bag and tossed them to him.

 

“You’re ridiculous,” Chuck said to Raleigh, standing up. “BRB.” With that, he walked out of the room. He returned a minute later and handed a pack of the chocolate wafers to Imogene.

He unceremoniously plopped down in Raleigh’s lap. “I do want to eat everything,” he said, almost sad. “I lost.”

 

“Lost what?” Raleigh asked, and he wrapped his arms around Chuck and pulled him closer. He wanted to eat him. He bet Chuck would taste good. Experimentally, he bit lightly at his shoulder. Yup.

 

Chuck pouted. “I was winning being high because I didn’t want to eat everything,” he said, like it was obvious. “And now I’m gonna be a … ummm…” No, bad, no, he thought. No talking about fatties. Nope.

 

“A fat kid?” Raleigh asked, and he ran a hand over Chuck’s incredibly flat stomach.

 

“Nooo?” Chuck said. Then he smiled.

 

“Yes,” said Raleigh. “It is what you wanted to say. I don’t know why you didn’t.” Raleigh pressed his head in between Chuck’s shoulder blades.

 

“Because you worry about things that you shouldn’t worry about,” Chuck said, and twisted around to kiss his forehead. “And I am working on not saying things that I want to say that you don’t want me to say.”

 

“But…” Raleigh said, and he tried to pull that statement apart. Then he grabbed Chuck and shifted him so he could look at his face. “Oh, you know. I...it’s OK. I _was_ a fat kid.” Pure statement of fact.

 

“And you’re not now,” Chuck nodded. “Because you’re pretty much, um, Adonis? Was he blond? Or did he kill himself in a lake?” He opened a pack of Jaffa Cakes and started eating one contentedly.

 

“Narcissus,” Raleigh said. “Died, uh, staring at himself because he couldn’t do anything else. And no, I am not now. So it is OK. You can eat Jaffa Cakes and be a fat kid.”

 

Chuck looked horrified, then ate another Jaffa Cake. “More kayaking,” he said. “No, um, more crunches. More sex.” He grinned, expression dirty. “More sex.”

 

“What? You have the flattest stomach!” Raleigh said. “I just meant, if you want to relax and eat your Jaffa Cakes…Not that, I...I mean, sex is always good.”

 

“I want to have sex with you like, all the time,” Chuck said. “But I am not dirty-talking you with your brother in the room.” He kissed Raleigh, far too deeply for someone who claimed to be withholding himself out of a sense of propriety.

 

“Yes, yes, very good,” Raleigh said, looking over at Yancy. “Very well behaved, aren’t you? Good Chuck.”

 

“I appreciate your appreciation,” Chuck said. “But…” He took a deep breath to steady himself, gather his thoughts. Then he frowned. “I don’t remember what I was going to say.”

 

“It happens,” Raleigh said, smiling broadly. He ruffled Chuck’s hair and then curled into his shoulder. “You’re very comfortable, surprising, since you have a lot of muscles.”

 

“Not gonna have them anymore once I eat all the donuts,” Chuck said, shaking his head. “Yance, shang me a donut. Hole,” he added, because he remembered that Yancy cared about that. Then giggled.

 

“I think you can eat donut holes for one day,” Raleigh murmured. Though he hadn’t touched them. Best not to start on that. “Hey!” Yancy had deliberately flung the donut hole at his head, and Chuck caught it on the rebound.

“Ooh we should try catching them in our mouths,” Yancy said.

 

“I will win at that,” Chuck said. “I will win at all the things.” He chomped his teeth in the air. “‘cept I might fall over.”

Tendo took a donut hole and tossed it in a high arc, and Chuck lunged for it and barely caught it in his mouth, nearly elbowing Raleigh in the face in the process. He threw his hands up in victory.

 

“No, no, line up, you assholes, otherwise someone is going to get a black eye,” said Yancy. “This is going to be organized. Mako, be my partner!”

 

“Dibs on Sasha,” Chuck said, because he was willing to bet (for no real reason) that she had killer aim, and also because he didn’t want her to throw things at him when his team beat hers.

“Whaddaya say, Becket boy?” Tendo said to Raleigh.

 

“Yes, let’s do this,” he said, as Alona and Imogene shrugged at each other. Raleigh sort of rolled off of the couch and got down on his knees, opening his mouth, ready to catch some donut holes.

 

Chuck watched this with a leer of appreciation. “It’s a good thing I put on underwear,” he said to Max, who looked up at him and barked. The image of Raleigh on his knees like that was - evocative, to say the least.

“Yes, yes, your puppy boyfriend is very pretty,” Sasha said. “Now, on your knees, Little Hansen.”

Chuck folded down onto his knees.

 

“Looks like you’re a natural as well,” Alona said, getting on her knees next to him. She gave him a big grin, pulling her hair back into a ponytail.

“Mako, c’mon,” Yancy said. “I have much better aim than you. Maako, c’mon…”

 

“I do not relish having sticky balls pelted at my head,” Mako said, and then smacked Chuck when he laughed. “You are a child. I will do the throwing.”

“I do spend some time on my knees,” Chuck mused aloud. He shot Alona a wicked, slant-eyed smirk. “And I’m pretty good with my mouth, yeah.”

 

“We will see,” said Alona. She glanced over at Raleigh, still with his mouth open, ready for ball launching.

Yancy sighed and got on his knees next to Alona and grinned at her. “I’m pretty good with my mouth, too,” he said. Alona rolled her eyes.

 

 _Do not say anything_ , Chuck told himself. _You like getting laid. You want to keep getting laid. Raleigh’s sad puppy eyes are awful. Do not challenge Yancy_. He swallowed.

“Focus, Charles,” Sasha said, frowning at him. “Get dicked later. Eat donuts now.”

“That’s a really flattering representation of my life,” Chuck said. “How are we doing this, anyway?”

 

Raleigh shook his head and closed his mouth to swallow. This was taking too long. He wanted to beat Chuck at something.

“I will count to three,” Mako said. “Then we will launch a donut. Best of seven sound all right for everyone?”

“Yes, very good, get it on, Mori,” Yancy said.

“Does everyone have a hole?” Mako asked. “Good. Then one, two, three!”

Four donut holes launched in the air.

 

Chuck was giggling up into the moment the donut holes were thrown, then he was all business. He watched Sasha’s hands with hawk-like focus, and caught the first donut hole out of the air with his teeth, chewing and swallowing with a smug smile.

Then he scrambled to grab Max before he could lunge up in the air and intercept the flying pastries. “No, shit, not for you, Max!”

He could understand the wounded look Max shot him, because usually any food being thrown around was fair game, and Chuck babbled apologies even as he stretched to catch the next donut hole. His mouth was open on a “Sorry, just, not yours!” and the donut hole bounced off his tongue and onto the floor. Max dove after it, and Chuck dove after him, because some human food might be okay but that much processed grains and sugar, fuck.

“You are not focusing,” Sasha said.

“I am!” Chuck said, as she threw a donut hole at his face and hit him on the nose. “Max, dammit -”

 

 _Oh, no,_ Raleigh thought, chewing the second donut hole he managed to catch. He had missed the second, largely from Chuck stretching to catch the second donut hole and trying not to laugh as Max tried to jump in the air, twirling like a figure skater and then shooting Chuck a completely destroyed puppy look.

“Pause,” said Mako. “We should clear the interference - it would not be good for Max to eat a donut hole.” She walked over and scooped him up. “All right if I put him in the bathroom for a moment?”

 

“Go for it,” Chuck said, laughing, because the look on Max’s face… Priceless. He waved as Max was carried away, wearing an expression of deep woe at the indignity of it all.

 

“Can we have a score recap?” Raleigh asked, reaching and stroking Chuck’s lower back in sympathy as Mako secured Max in the bathroom. He immediately issued a deep, mournful howl. “Oh, man, good thing I brought that bone for him.”

“Raleigh’s caught 2,” said Tendo, “Chuck has 1, Alona has 1, and Yancy has 2...so it’s really still anybody’s, uh...whatever this is.”

 

It was a good thing Chuck was easily distracted by the game, because the number of puns that were dancing on the tip of his tongue about bones that Raleigh had brought were endless. But then Sasha snapped her fingers at him, and he recentered his focus.

“We shoulda bet on it,” Chuck said, scrambling backwards as the donut went a little over his head. He managed to catch it between his lips, half of it spilling out over his chest as he bit down.

 

“We can still bet,” Yancy said, picking his donut hole off of the floor and eating it. “Uh, can we not throw the gross cinnamon ones? I told them not to include those, damnit.”

“What do you want to bet, Hansen?” Alona asked, giving him one of those big toothy smiles of hers. It made Raleigh wonder if maybe she was the Chuck in the relationship - or if they were both Chucks. He shook his head as Max issued another sad howl.

 

“Beckets go sky-diving if they lose,” Chuck said, scowling as Sasha beaned him in the forehead with a donut hole, smiling like a shark as she did. He had the distinct feeling she could have made every shot, but found joy in giving him pain. Poor choice as a partner, in short. “And, uh, I dunno, what would you guys want?”

 

“We need to have a conference,” Yancy said, and he flopped over the couch and leaned down so that he was near Raleigh’s face. “What do we want?”

“Has to be proportional to sky-diving,” Raleigh said. “Can we ask for Max?”

“No we cannot ask for Max,” Yancy said. “Where would we keep him at school?” Raleigh frowned. “What would be just as terrifying for those two adrenaline junkies?”

“Fancy dinner?” Yancy asked. “Make them behave like respectable human beings?”

“Ooh that place in Lake Placid?” Raleigh asked. “Romantical evening?”

“That is not a word, but yes,” Yancy said, and he pulled away.

“Beckets win and they get a romantical meal,” he said, and Raleigh grinned. “Romantical evening.”

 

Chuck stood, taking Sasha by the shoulders. He looked down at her seriously. “Sasha. You are no longer allowed to mess with me. You can throw as many donut holes as you want afterwards, but until then, this is for real.”

“So serious, Little Hansen.” She smirked. “Maybe yes. Maybe I like to see you squirm, hm?”

“Sasha,” he said again. “No. Bad.” He folded back to his knees, glaring. “Focus! Be the donut. You are the donut.” He pouted. “I don’t even have a blazer and I don’t wanna ask Herc.”

 

“Well, everyone’s caught two at this point, so...what, best of five?” Tendo asked, and everyone nodded.

“You fuck this up and I will end you, Choi,” Raleigh said.

“Same, Mori,” said Yancy. “And you know I can.” Mako nodded her head, though Raleigh suspected she doubted the seriousness of the threat. “And who doesn’t own a blazer?”

“Ready?” Mako said, ignoring Yancy. “On three. One, two, and three.”

 

“I own a fucking blazer!” Chuck protested. He wanted to protest further, because who brought a fucking blazer to summer camp, but there were more important things to be thinking about - flying donuts, mostly.

And then -

Chuck would deny it to the death, the way everything happened. But the air was filled with a flurry of donut holes, and everyone was tied at three. And then, as Sasha threw the last donut, Chuck thought -

Huh. Raleigh’s shoulders would look really good in a blazer. Candlelight streaking his hair gold, and, uh -

And then the donut hole hit him in the face, even as Raleigh whooped with victory next to him, having caught his last one. “Fuck,” Chuck said, hanging his head. “God dammit.”

 

“Thank God,” Raleigh said, after his victory whoop, and then he grinned at Chuck. “Yes fancy dinner.”

“No jumping out of plane,” Yancy said, clearly relieved. “Do you have something pretty to wear?”

“Who said I was involved in this?” Alona said. She glanced over at Raleigh, who beaming. “Fine, fine. I might have something pretty.” She quirked a smile at Yancy. “We will see how I feel.”

 

Chuck laughed, then poked Yancy in the ribs. “I have a blazer, you wanker. At _home_ , where I have any cause to wear it. Did you really bring a blazer to fucking summer camp?”

 

“Yeah, for the end of the summer formal dinner,” Yancy said, blinking at Chuck. “You know about that, right?”

Raleigh got up to rescue Max from the bathroom and scooped him into his arms. “Shoulda asked for Max,” he said.

 

“Nah? My old man didn’t tell me,” Chuck said. It was so like Herc, to not tell him. Probably because he knew Chuck would bitch all summer about having to dress up. Better to leave it off till the very end. “What’s the - You’re not stealing my dog, Becket.”

 

“I said we should have,” Raleigh said, cuddling Max close. He whispered in his ear, “I know he was a mean Chuck not letting you have donut holes but don’t worry I have something for you.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small bone. “Yancy wouldn’t let me,” he said, louder.

 

“I will revoke your Max privileges if you keep trying to steal my dog,” Chuck said, poking Yancy again because he really wanted to poke Raleigh, only he was too far away. “Do I really have to dress up?” Then, without pausing for breath, added, “Did you know the girl campers think I’m dreamy?” He shook his head, amused.

“Yes, they have mentioned it,” Mako said, giggling. “Oh, Miss Mako, what is Chuck like? Does Chuck have a girlfriend? I do not say anything.”

“Better than some of the things older campers say,” Sasha said, shaking her head. “Things I never want to think about.”

 

“Oh, no, you can’t bring that up without sharing with the class,” Yancy said, moving away from Chuck and towards Tendo. “Roll some more, Choi. The day is young and we have, like, seventy more donut holes to eat.” Tendo sighed and pulled open his stash, beginning to put together a very large joint.

“I’m not going to steal him,” Raleigh said, a little sadly. He set Max down next to his pig. Max put his paw on him as he chewed his bone. “He would be devastated without you.”

“Who do they think is the dreamiest?” Yancy asked.

 

The girl counselors traded looks. “Not happening,” Imogene said.

“If it is Chuck, he will be smug. If it is not, he will pout. Same for you and Tendo. And Raleigh will blush like tomato if I tell the dirty things counselors say about him,” Sasha said, smirking.

Mako shook her head. “You don’t want to open Pandora’s Box, Yancy.”

“I will tell things they say, but no rankings,” Sasha said, also shaking her head.

 

“Yes, fine, tell all the things,” Yancy said, knowing full well he wasn’t going to get rankings - much as he wanted to use the opportunity to boost Raleigh’s self-esteem. He was fully aware most of the girl campers weren’t old enough to appreciate his jawline and more classic good looks, they wanted an adorable puppy with an eight-pack of abs.

He took the joint from Tendo and inhaled as everyone arranged themselves in a circle.

 

“Well, for young Becket,” she started, and shrugged, “they are young girls, they do not know. Imagine clandestine midnight meetings and kisses on the dock, he brings flowers, recites poetry.”

“For Chuck…” Imogene said.

Chuck looked up, narrow-eyed at her hesitance.

“They imagine elaborate scenarios where they break down your walls so you show them your sensitive side,” Imogene said.

“And then fuck them - in a kayak? Sounds uncomfortable,” Sasha said.

Chuck made a face. “They’re 14, s’just a little gross to think about, yeah?”

“Mostly it is the counselors saying dirty things about you all,” Mako admitted.

 

“Ooh I want to know the dirty things,” said Yancy, and Alona elbowed him.

“Break down walls?” Raleigh asked. “It’s like a teen romance novel. Like the one with the sparkle vampire, right?” He shook his head and tried to think. “But I don’t even fuck them? Just give them flowers and poetry?” He frowned.

“Let Yancy hear the good stuff and we’ll share with you,” Tendo said, rolling another joint, because it was going to come up sooner or later.

 

“Did I say kisses were all you did on the dock?” Sasha said tartly.

Chuck elbowed him. “A face you could sit on, yeah?”

“But they want romantic lovemaking from you,” Mako said. “Just as detailed as Chuck, I promise.”

 

“No one is going to tell me the dirty things, are they?” Yancy asked, and sighed. “You guys are completely devoid of men over there, most of the day, you have to talk…”

“You are such a pervert,” Raleigh said, and put his head on Chuck’s shoulder. “Romantic lovemaking…” He smiled, slightly. They hadn’t really done that yet. Probably because...well. Maybe after their romantic dinner.

“Right, Becket, so we can inflate your ego even more,” Tendo said, voice terse and annoyed. Raleigh glanced over at him - he got it. Yancy’s constant sidekick, always there for his adventures, sometimes picking up the pieces in the wake of devastation Yancy left behind. But he’d only been with a few people at Amherst. Almost as dismal a record as Raleigh himself.

 

“Christ,” Chuck said, taking the joint from Mako and inhaling a deep drag. He coughed as he breathed out, but less than before.

Raleigh better not be getting any ideas about lovemaking, he thought. He already called him ‘sweetheart,’ what more did he want?

Mako looked at Raleigh, eyebrow raised, and tipped her head at Tendo, seeming to ask if something could be done to defuse the situation.

“They say things about all of you,” Imogene said. “Mostly Chuck, because word gets around fast.” She shot him a smirk.

“But you know, they are always on about Raleigh’s cock, making Yancy put his mouth to better use, Tendo probably being a…” Mako looked at Sasha.

“Technician,” Sasha filled in. “Very masterful with his fingers.” She wriggled her own fingers. “I believe they heard about some robot you built for microrobotics challenge?”

Mako nodded. “Fine motor skills,” she said.

 

“Oh,” Tendo said, and he grinned. “Well.”

“How do they know about…” Raleigh frowned. “About my cock? And what word got around about Chuck?” He reached and pulled Max into his lap with the bone and the pig, suddenly feeling vulnerable.

“Raleigh,” Yancy said, “We’ve talked about this - you wear those swim shorts, and it just sort of...is there.”

“Very there,” Tendo added.

Raleigh looked down. He hadn’t worn underwear this morning. “Huh.”

“You are such a fucking idiot,” Yancy said. “You would have died in the wild without me.”

 

Chuck laughed, head tipping back. “You get all pouty when you think chicks don’t talk about you, and then when they do…” He smirked, looking at Raleigh from under his eyelashes. “I promise you, sweetheart, I know what they talk about, for you. Your cock, your lips, your abs, the way you swagger when you walk, that swim stroke you’ve got….”

 

“Swim stroke?” Raleigh asked, and Yancy reached over and smacked him in the head.

“Uh, I should have never brought this up-”

“Story of your life,” Tendo quipped.

“So it looks like it’s either Truth or Dare or Never Have I Ever,” Yancy said. “Ladies choice.” Also, did Chuck Hansen just call his brother sweetheart? Was that ironic?

 

“Never have I ever,” Mako said.

“Yes, I don’t feel like making out with any of my friends for men’s perverse enjoyment today,” Imogene added, rolling her eyes.

“Damn,” Chuck said. “Don’t we need grog, then?” Did college students regularly drink at 10 in the morning, he wondered? Might have asked, except Yancy would be all condescending, ‘so proud to see my little flower bloom’ type shit.

 

“Yes, yes we do,” said Yancy. He hopped up and went to the small fridge in the kitchen, emerging with a bottle of vodka, a bottle of orange juice, and a bottle of cranberry juice. “Look, see, breakfast juice,” he said. “Except for Sasha, who does not require juice.”

“Vodka came in my baby bottle,” Sasha said. Yancy nodded. He was going to make the joke but was afraid of where it would lead.

“What do you want?” Raleigh asked Chuck, slipping Max back into Chuck’s lap and standing, stretching.

“Damn,” Imogene said, passing the joint over to Sasha. “It really is that big, isn’t it?”

 

Chuck could not have looked more smug at that moment, then he seemed to remember that he wasn’t supposed to brag about taking it up the ass, and tried for a second to clear his expression. But eh, it was an accomplishment! He felt he should be proud.

“You think it looks big now, try getting the bloody thing down your throat,” he said. “And coffee, thanks.” He grinned up at Raleigh. _That’s why we put on underwear,_ he thought, but he kind of liked showing everyone else what they were missing out on.

Mako went to put water into the coffee maker in the kitchenette, because she wanted it too, and because she didn’t want Chuck to laugh at her for the way her face reddened at his lewd words.

 

“OK, so ground rules,” Yancy said, accepting a cup of orange juice and vodka from Raleigh, who sat down with his own. “Some of us know each other better than others, so no intentionally trying to get someone blitzed, because that is cruel.”

Raleigh nodded his head. “No booze?” he said to Chuck.

At the same time, though, Alona leaned back on the other side of Chuck. “Lucky you, Chuck,” she said. “I bet that feels fantastic.”

 

“At the time, yeah, but the day after was a little rough,” Chuck said, sliding Max off him so he could rise to his feet. “And who said anything about not having booze?” He walked out of the room.

Imogene took the opportunity to lean forward and say to Raleigh, “Is it just the pot, or does getting laid mellow him out that much? He seems…”

“Yes, this is definitely not normal Chuck Hansen behavior,” Mako said, taking a seat in the circle with her own vodka cranberry. “Admitting to enjoying being the bottom?” She shook her head.

 

“Oh, no, did he just say that,” Raleigh said, Chuck still out of the room. “Oh boy.”

“Seriously?” Yancy said, leaning in. “After, what, two weeks, you got him to-”

“I didn’t get him to do anything,” Raleigh said, petting Max anxiously.

“Well done, Becket Boy,” Tendo said, clapping him on the back. Then he coughed when Chuck opened the door again.

“No, only said that ‘cause I asked what you wanted, and you said coffee,” Raleigh said to Chuck. “I would have got you a drink…”

 

Chuck looked suspiciously at Tendo. They were talking about him, he was pretty sure. Like… very sure. But it didn’t seem worth it to argue about. And he didn’t totally remember what he had said on his way out the door, but it was probably something worth remarking over. Whatever.

He plopped back down, showing off what he held in his hands - a full handle of Kahlua, still sealed. “Liberated it from my old man’s place. Who knew he liked such girly drinks?”

 

“Oh, that is...mmm, I might have to change drinks,” Yancy said.

“No,” Raleigh said, in his most stern voice. “No. You already drank the orange juice you are not having kahlua remember last time?” Tendo nodded his head with this and Yancy sighed.

“Fine, fine. Hansen, well done anyway,” he said. “Mako, why don’t you start?”

“I am just imagining Herc and Stacker having lady cocktails,” Raleigh said, “staring out at the lake…”

 

Chuck snorted. “I wouldn’t doubt it. Once caught him hiding Pina Colada mixer in his sock drawer. Can’t speak for Stacker, though.”

“Whiskey, neat,” Mako said.

“It’s an elaborate cover-up,” Chuck said. “He probably drinks Cosmos when you aren’t around.”

Mako shook her head. “Never have I ever… gone down on a woman.”

Chuck broke open the bottle of Kahlua and took a swig straight out of it.

Tendo took a gulp from his own glass - and Sasha also, making Chuck grin and wolf-whistle through his teeth.

 

Alona took a sip alongside Yancy and then grinned at him.

“You didn’t mention you were-”

“I am Scandinavian,” she said, and Imogene laughed.

“OK, hmmm,” said Imogene. “There are only so many sexual exploits we can through, so...never have I ever gone skinny dipping.”

 _Good, good,_ Raleigh thought, at least he was able to drink with that one. Along with everyone else aside.

 

“Never have I ever…” Sasha said, and had to think for a while. “Been arrested.”

 

“Choi,” Yancy said. “Own up.” Tendo sighed and drank. “And, should have mentioned, if you are the only one to drink, you have to tell the story.”

“Indecent exposure,” said Tendo. “I pissed on a statue in some lady’s lawn.”

 

Chuck looked at the bottle.

“Drink,” said Mako.

“I was underage, it shouldn’t even count,” Chuck grumbled, but he obligingly took another swallow.

 

“Aw, bullshit!” said Tendo. “You have to tell now too.”

 

“S’not very interesting,” Chuck said. “I was climbing this one building in DC and a cop came over, asked me what I thought I was doing.”

“And you said…?” Mako prompted.

Chuck sighed. “And I said, looking for terrorists. He pinned me with disorderly conduct, it was total bullshit.”

 

“That was very smart,” said Tendo, and he nodded his head. Raleigh just looked down at his drink.

“Hmm, right,” said Yancy. “Never have I ever tried to steal Max.” Imogene was right - you had to pace the good stuff. He had started with Mako for a reason, but she had gone for the throat.

Raleigh drank, and so did Alona. Raleigh raised his eyebrow at Mako. “Last summer?”

 

“I am going to kill all of you,” Chuck said as Mako drank. He pulled Max into his lap, cuddling him close. “Stop trying to steal my dog!”

“You are the one who left him all by himself for so many months,” Mako said. “We cannot help…”

“No.” Chuck scowled. “My dog. Not yours.”

 

“It’s just because he’s so wonderful,” Raleigh said, and sighed. “Um, so. Never have I ever…” he paused. They’d already used eating pussy, which was obvious. He almost said one night stand but then remembered what Chuck said about Grindr. “Never have I ever done a body shot off someone,” he said.

Yancy drank, and elbowed Tendo, who drank as well. Imogene drank and Alona shook her head. “That is unsanitary,” she said.

 

Chuck and Sasha each took a drink.

“Never have I ever,” Chuck said, thinking. He bit his lip. For some reason, the things popping to his mind were sad and pathetic - never been in love, never had someone say ‘I love you,’ never won an award. He shook it off, struggling to think of something that wouldn’t make him sound - like a 14 year old reading books about sparkling vampires, really.

“I’ve never tasted wine?” he said doubtfully. “That counts, yeah?”

 

“Absolutely,” said Yancy. Everyone drank except Chuck. “Ooh, is there a rule for that?”

“Besides get the kid a bottle of wine?” Tendo asked, and shook his head. Raleigh smiled, though. That would be a good thing to experience on their fancy date.

Alona looked around. “Never have I ever got a tattoo,” she said.

 

Chuck looked around. He intended to get one, but the perfect idea hadn’t come to mind yet, so he was waiting on that one.

Mako shrugged, and even Sasha shook her head.

 

“Really?” Yancy said, and then he sighed. “Goddamnit.” He peeled his shirt off to reveal his back and the piece that covered almost all of it - a stylized nature scape of fur trees, mountains rising in the distance, and Alaskan summer flowers in the front, done in an abstract watercolor style. He turned so everyone could look at.

“I did not think you would be the only one,” Alona said, and pat his thigh.

 

“I would mock you, but - that’s fucking hot,” Chuck said, swiping his tongue over his lower lip.

 

“Yeah, I, uh, designed it myself,” Yancy said, and quickly pulled his shirt back on before anyone could notice the names interwoven with the flowers. “Thanks. And you’re up again, Mako.”

 

Chuck rolled to his feet and walked into the kitchenette, listening over his shoulder as he fetched a mug of coffee, breathing in the steam gratefully. He brought it back to his spot, dumping in a liberal amount of Kahlua, which cooled it enough that he could take a sip.

“Why can’t Yance drink OJ and coffee?” he asked while Mako was thinking.

 

“Orange juice and then kahlua,” Raleigh said. “We were drinking screwdrivers and ran out of vodka and then Yancy was like, _oh, but I have some kahlua_ and was the only person dumb enough to drink it and it curdled in his stomach. And he projectile vomited on Trevin.”

“I think it was Bruce,” Tendo said.

“Maybe,” Raleigh said.

“Not my finest moment,” Yancy conceded.

 

“That’s disgusting,” Chuck said. “Does that mean you don’t want any?” He offered his own mug to Yancy.

“Never have I ever vomited from drinking,” Mako said, grinning.

 

“I am feeling personally targeted,” said Yancy, drinking. Tendo and Imogene did as well.

 

“Nonsense, you merely gave me the idea,” Mako said.

 

“Great,” Yancy said. “Sasha, you prepared?”

Sasha levelled a shark-like gaze at Yancy and nodded her head. “Never have I ever...conceived of plot to try and see if Baby Becket’s dick really is that big.”

Imogene looked down and took a drink, as did Alona.

 

Chuck narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. “It is,” he said. “And I’m pretty sure I didn’t? Mostly the abs caught my attention, and then the giant cock was a nice surprise.”

He nudged Raleigh, because for whatever reason, Raleigh seemed to dislike when attention was brought to his objectively huge dick.

 

Mako sighed and drank.

“Mako!” Raleigh said. “I would have told you.”

“Competition on girls camp,” Sasha said. “See if rumor is true. Cannot ask just to see dick.” Raleigh sighed.

 

Chuck laughed, head tipping back. “Oh my god,” he said, practically gasping the words. “Wow, I am not giving any more details, because I want this competition to continue indefinitely.”

He may have been a bad boyfriend for encouraging them when it clearly made Raleigh uncomfortable, but that was fucking hilarious.

 

“Why?” he said, shooting Chuck a look. “It’s just a dick!”

“Says the guy with the massive dick,” Tendo said.

 

“Jesus, yeah,” Chuck said, still laughing. “How much sympathy do you think you’re gonna get from us normal-sized plebeians, fucker?”

“We can move along now,” Mako said, because Raleigh was so clearly uncomfortable with the subject.

 

“Damnit,” said Imogene, then, “what? I was hoping if we got him worked up enough he’d get fed up and drop his pants.” She looked at Raleigh and grinned. “Never have I ever kissed two different people on the same night.”

Yancy drank, as did Alona.

 

Chuck took a long drink from his coffee, and then regretted that, because ow. Maybe there was a reason people didn’t play these games with hot drinks. He stole Raleigh’s drink and took a swallow to cool off his throat.

He’d like to do sex things, just to find out shit about other people - Raleigh, mostly - but he’d done all the sex things he could think of. “Never have I ever, um, skipped a class.”

 

“Really?” Raleigh asked, drinking. Everyone else did as well. He smiled at Chuck. “That’s so good of you.”

“Never have I ever had a threesome,” Yancy said. “Though I am open to the experience.” He smiled at Alona. She rolled her eyes.

 

 _Damn_ , Chuck thought, feeling a pang of slight regret. If he weren’t -

He took a drink, chasing it immediately with Raleigh’s drink before handing it back to him. “‘m probably gonna vomit,” he said pleasantly. “I’ve heard things about getting twisted, and at this rate, you lot being prudes and all, I’m gonna get fucking pissed on top of the pot. Just to warn you.” He patted Raleigh’s head, because no one there had any illusions about who would be taking care of him if and when he did throw up.

 

“Kahlua is never a good idea,” Raleigh said, trying to think, though _who has a threesome before they are in college?_ kept echoing through his head.

“Never have I ever taken it up the ass,” Tendo said.

Raleigh shook his head slightly and drank. So did Yancy.

“Dude!” Tendo said.

“Pegging,” Yancy replied, and grinned.

 

Chuck took a long swallow of his coffee. “You know, if you had a threesome, there’s a chance you’d get to experience the real thing,” he said. “Might not be a threesome with a girl, after all.”

 

“Why would I do that if I don’t like men?” Yancy asked, carefully. He had thought that Tendo was just fishing for an outburst, there, but Chuck seemed to still be contentedly stoned.

 

“So you’re gonna have your girl fuck another girl, but you’re not okay bringing another guy into it,” Chuck said, not slurring his words only through the work of intense concentration. “Sounds kinda homophobic to me, mate.”

 

“Wait, what?” Yancy said. “I would only do it if my girl was interested in fucking another girl.” He looked at Chuck and suddenly realized how completely stoned and drunk he was. “Is this unusual logic?” he said, standing up to get him a bottle of water.

 

“Oh.” Chuck said. “That’s fine, then. Carry on.” He closed his eyes, letting the world swim around him. He wasn’t normally such a lightweight, but it seemed that on top of all the pot, a few shots of Kahlua and vodka was enough to fuck him up. Good to know. Lessons for college, he thought.

“Never have I ever, um, failed a test.” Mako said, though it wasn’t her turn - but she wanted to make it so Chuck wouldn’t have to drink without making it obvious to him.

 

“Here you go,” Yancy said, and tossed water bottles at Chuck, Tendo, Raleigh and Alona. “Anyone else want one?”

“We need proper breakfast,” Alona said, standing. “And, no, donut holes do not count. Good thing we stopped at the store.” Imogene stood up to help her. “Bacon, toast, eggs work for everyone?”

“Aw, you are the best,” said Raleigh, slinging his arm around Chuck’s shoulder. He was relieved at how they were handling it, not singling out Chuck for attention.

 

Chuck figured he should stop drinking, but there was only a swallow of coffee left in his mug, so he finished that before cracking open the water bottle. He whistled Max over and then buried his face in the scruff of his neck. “Sucker rule,” he said, muffled into Max’s fur. “This is all your fault.”

“Max’s fault?” Mako asked.

Chuck shook his head. “All of you. Collective you.”

 

“What have we done?” Raleigh asked, working his fingers through Chuck’s hair and making sure he drank all of the water. In the kitchenette the eggs began to crackle and fizzle in the pan.

Mako moved a little closer and shot him a look. Raleigh nodded - he knew that they were on thin ice, here, and part of him wondered if it might be better to just get Chuck to vomit before he really started to feel gross.

 

If he were more sober, Chuck would have been annoyed at himself for always being the drunkest one in the room. Just showed how much younger than them he was - for all his experience, he’d never learned to moderate himself. Hadn’t had a chance to learn his limits yet.

“Nothing,” he said, picking up his head. He clumsily scratched behind Max’s ears. “I should probably take Max for a walk.” He started to stand, using the bed for balance.

 

“Sure,” Raleigh said. He looked over to Mako, after all - she wouldn’t be accused of trying to baby him.

“I could use some fresh air as well, if you do not mind,” Mako said. She steadied herself as she stood, as well, feeling a bit more drunk than she thought she was when she was seated.

 

“Sure, s’fine with me,” Chuck said. He turned to Raleigh. “Be right back, love,” he said, brushing his fingers over one of the visible hickeys on Raleigh’s neck before walking out of the room, Mako following behind him.

“Wow,” Tendo said from behind Raleigh. “That was…”

 

“What?” Raleigh asked, turning and looking at Tendo, completely unsure what he was talking about.

 

Tendo looked at Yancy. “You saw that, right?”

 

“Sorry, man, no,” Yancy said from the kitchen, where he had been put on toast duty. “I wasn’t paying attention at all.”

 

“Huh.” Tendo frowned. “Nothing, man,” he eventually said. “None of my business.”

 

Raleigh grabbed his arm and pulled him close. “Tendo, what?” he said. “You know I hate when you do that…”

 

“It’s nothing,” Tendo said, tugging away. “I seem to recall getting punched the last time I…”

 

“I’m not gonna punch you, man,” Raleigh said, and he took a different tact, giving Tendo slight puppy-dog eyes. Not the full, big ones, but enough that it would still make a point. “I just...I’m gonna get paranoid, now, and you thought enough to say something and just because Yancy isn’t going to back you up c’mon please?”

 

Tendo sighed. Damn Beckets and their damn puppy eyes. Although Raleigh affected them a lot better than Yancy. “It’s just, the way he touched you? The, uh, he told us he let you fuck him, and - he calls you love? What, did he change his mind about this summer?”

 

“I don’t think so,” Raleigh said. “He hasn’t mentioned it, so...no?” He furrowed his brow, though. Tendo sort of had a point. “We just talked about it.”

“Wait, wait,” said Alona, “He said he is only dating you for the summer?” Raleigh nodded, and she looked at Tendo and raised her eyebrows nearly into her hairline and shook her head.

 

“Right?” Tendo said to her, also shaking his head. And somehow, Raleigh didn’t see…

 

“You think he’s acting differently?” Raleigh asked, looking from Alona to Tendo.

Yancy closed his eyes and shook his head, then buttered some more toast.

 

“I think,” Tendo said carefully, “that either he’s in as deep as you are and it’s going to crush you both when he fucks you over like that, or…” _he never cared at all, and that’s why it’s going to be so easy for him to get over the whole deal, and why it’s so easy for him to toss around romantic pet names like they’re nothing_.

He was not going to say that last part, though.

 

“Oh,” Raleigh said. He took another sip of his drink. “Well, nothing I can do about it, you know?” He sighed - why did Chuck Hansen have to make him feel this way? Why did he always have to feel this way about the wrong person? He flopped down onto his side. “I suck at this.”

 

Tendo shrugged. Couldn’t exactly deny that one. “That sucks, dude,” he said, because that was the best he could come up with.

 

“I don’t know, Raleigh, you could be more self aware,” Yancy suggested, alcohol and pot making him have much less of a filter. “Recognize who you’re attracted to and then say, _no, bad Raleigh, no!_ and don’t do anything about it. Go after some nice, quiet guy that likes...chess, or something.”

Raleigh stared, very hard, at Yancy. “You have absolutely no room to talk,” he said. Then, quickly, “Uh, I don’t mean you, Alona.”

“Mmm,” she said, stirring the eggs.

 

“It’s also not particularly helpful in the short term?” Tendo interjected. “Okay, future reference, Rals avoids assholes instead of being drawn to them like a particularly dumb moth at a porch light. But, uh, too late for that one, so -” He shrugged. “Don’t delude yourself into thinking anything’s gonna change, I guess.”

 

“I’m not,” Raleigh said. “And aren’t all moths dumb?”

“Yes,” Yancy said, carefully.

“Oh,” Raleigh said.

“The point is,” Yancy said to Tendo. “We start working on new, successful behaviors now and they’ll be in place by the time Raleigh is back out there in the inky blackness, looking for his next porch light.”

 

“That was poetry, man,” Tendo said with real appreciation in his voice. He patted Raleigh’s head. “Sounds good?”

 

“I guess so,” Raleigh said. “Have I really only dated assholes?”

“Why don’t you let him date who he wants to date?” Alona asked. Yancy pointed a buttered knife at Tendo.

 

“Because it always goes terribly wrong and makes Raleigh be sad-puppy Raleigh for varying lengths of time,” Tendo filled in, hoping that’s what Yancy had been going for. “Every fucking time. And this time looks like it’s going to be, umm…” He sighed. “Big.”

 

“I am prepared,” Raleigh said. “I know its coming - and I’m not a sad puppy Raleigh!”

“You’re about as much of a sad puppy as Max was when Chuck scooped him away from those damn donut holes.”

 

Tendo shook his head, petting Raleigh’s hair again before going into the kitchen to steal food from the cooks.

Mako returned some 10 minutes later, notably missing Chuck and his furry companion. “He’s fine,” she told Raleigh. “Told me to tell you that he doesn’t need your ass babysitting him.”

 

“He’s fine doing what?” Raleigh asked, carefully munching on his bacon, thinking about what Tendo and Yancy had just said.

“I’m gonna go with vomiting,” said Tendo.

 

“Not yet,” Mako said. “But yes, I do believe that’s where things are heading.”

 

“OK, then,” Raleigh said. “I mean, no one likes someone watching them throw up, right?” He looked to Mako, mostly, for confirmation. If she thought Chuck would like him there she would say so.

 

Mako nodded. “Chuck may make poor life choices, but he is not going to choke on his own vomit. He will be fine. And Max will be better-suited company than you, for now.”

 

“OK,” Raleigh said. “Would you like some proper breakfast food, Mako?” He stood up to get some for her.

 

“Yes please,” she said, and smiled up at him.

 

Raleigh loaded her up a plate and handed it to her, then sat close next to her. Tendo and Yancy started to argue about something and the other girls were cleaning the kitchen. He sighed.


	11. Chapter 11

“Oh, look at you,” Raleigh said, when Yancy emerged from his hotel room with a small bouquet of flowers that he’d no doubt picked from a roadside meadow somewhere. “And you’re all on me about Chuck and sad puppies and-”

“She’s going back to Denmark,” Yancy said, in his most patient voice. “Chuck’s gonna be, like, an hour and a half away.”

Raleigh looked down. Not like he’d looked that up on Google maps or whatever. He knocked on the door to the other hotel room - they’d each got one in Lake Placid, with promises to meet up with the rest of the group tomorrow. Maybe Tendo would score with Imogene without any outside interference. “Chuck are you almost ready?”

Raleigh smoothed his paisley printed tie down, feeling a little silly in a charcoal blazer in the middle of summer - but it was, at least, a cool evening.

 

Chuck was scowling when he threw open the door, but he was fully dressed, suit fitting him like a glove. Matching slate grey slacks and jacket, set off by a coal black button-down and a metallic silver tie. His father was a sadist, and seemed to find joy in dressing Chuck up like his personal doll - in Stacker’s clothes, because Chuck was broader at the shoulders and waist than Herc, which was hilarious. But Chuck had stopped laughing when they wouldn’t let him get away with just a fucking blazer, because _they were sadists who shouldn’t be running a camp for children_.

“Don’t say anything,” he said. “Just - don’t.”

 

Raleigh’s eyes were wide as he took Chuck in, because he looked amazing. Handsome, delicious, and Raleigh was going to rip all of those clothes off of him in short order after their meal. Even Yancy was impressed - and he rarely was when people dressed up. Yancy had adapted to Amherst in about ten seconds, and he was never without a tie, coordinating pocket square, and impeccably tailored suit. He’d dressed Raleigh as well, sticking him in a pink shirt even as Raleigh protested.

“You look really handsome,” Raleigh said, and then leaned in and kissed Chuck on the lips.

 

“What is it about ‘don’t say anything’ that you don’t understand?” Chuck said, muffled against his lips, before pulling away. He shook his head - he’d drawn the line at cufflinks, but he still felt ridiculous in this get-up.

 

“Oh, well, but you do,” Raleigh said, and was spared further discussion on this when the door to the other room opened and Alona emerged in a dress that was...confusing, for him. It was sleeveless, draped, and incredibly shapeless while still clinging to her breasts, but it was also precariously short. She had very, very, long legs. And very high heels, which made her taller than Yancy.

“For you,” Yancy said, and handed her the flowers. Alona beamed at him and then kissed his forehead.

She was definitely the Chuck.

“Alright, everyone, it’s just right this way,” Yancy said, nodding his head down the street towards the Lake Placid Main Street.

 

Chuck whistled appreciatively when Alona emerged. “Well,” he said, grinning. “I’d make some self-deprecating remark about feeling insecure among you hotties, but I’m well-aware I look really handsome, so.” He smirked at Raleigh, reaching down and grabbing his ass.

 

Raleigh was amazed that Alona was able to make it to the restaurant, striding like a model. Most of the girls he knew at school who wore ridiculous heels seemed to be precariously balanced on them, eventually falling off at some point and carrying them. Maybe European women were more sophisticated.

The maitre’d at the restaurant seemed amused by them. “Reservation is for Becket,” Yancy said. He pulled out the chair for Alona.

Raleigh almost reached to do the same, but then stopped, remembering Chuck making some kind of comment about that sort of thing.

 

Chuck saw his arm twitch towards his chair, and smiled when he caught himself. He caught Raleigh’s wrist and squeezed it in a silent demonstration of thanks.

He paused by his chair, tugging off his coat. “I’m gonna check my coat,” he said, because he was already feeling claustrophobic from it. “You guys good?”

 

“Yes,” Yancy said. “Do you have a wine preference? House white or house red?”

“No, no,” said Alona. “We will get the good wine. Don’t make a face at me I am getting a very favorable currency exchange.” She took the wine list from Yancy and began to look at it.

“Good,” Raleigh said.

 

By the time Chuck returned, he had his cuffs rolled up to the elbows, though at least he did it with neat, crisp folds. He had also undone the top two buttons and loosened his tie. He felt much better like this, and grinned easily as he took his seat. _That didn’t last long_ , he thought to himself.

“So what’d you land on? I assume red,” he said.

 

“One red and one white,” Alona said, setting the menu down. “I think I will be ordering fish, so.”

Raleigh smiled at Chuck - though he had partially undressed himself, which was sort of agonizing. And unfair. Especially since there was a tuft of ginger hair sticking up now that he had undone his buttons.

“I mean, if that is alright with you?” she said, turning to Chuck.

 

“Yeah, I’m probably getting red meat, so I’m set.” He… sounded like he knew what he was talking about, right? He wasn’t even sure if he’d like wine, so. “But I, uh, don’t have a fake ID, so I’ll just drink out of Raleigh’s glass anyway.”

 

“Just play it cool, Hansen,” Yancy said, as the waiter came over.

“We are going to have a bottle of the Gewurztraminer,” Alona said, pronouncing it with a deep, guttural sound that Raleigh hadn’t heard in her voice before. “And the Shiraz.”

“Wonderful,” said the waiter, and he glanced at all of them. “Some bread for the table?”

“Absolutely,” Yancy said. “Thank you.” He cocked his head slightly at Chuck once he was out of earshot. “You look older,” he said, and shrugged as the waiter returned with four wine glasses and another, bringing their two bottles of wine.

“Red or white, sir?” he asked Chuck.

“Start with the white,” Alona said. “You will be happy you did.”

 

“White, thanks,” he said, flashing an even smile, not an iota out of place. Chuck was a practiced liar.

 

“Excellent,” said the server. They all opted for white, and he left the bottle of red wine at the center of the table after pouring a good three quarters of the bottle of white.

“Cheers,” said Yancy, holding his glass.

“Skol,” Alona added, and they clinked and all of them took a sip.

“What do you think?” Raleigh asked Chuck.

 

Chuck took a few sips. Then he drew it away from his face, wrinkling his nose. “Honestly, not a big fan,” he said. “So, no worries, I won’t be getting embarrassingly drunk, for once.” He grinned with a tiny wince, because he wasn’t clueless enough not to know that he’d made an ass of himself the last weekend.

 

Raleigh squeezed his thigh. “You weren’t the only one,” he said.

“And,” Yancy said, “You weren’t so drunk that you did not know when to make an appropriate exit.” Alona nodded her head.

“Sasha was drinking straight vodka,” Yancy said. “Told me all how about I could have my first threesome with her and Aleksis and how much I would enjoy his cock. I told her I wasn’t looking to come out of it with stitches.” He grinned.

 

“Hey, size isn’t necessarily proportionate,” Chuck said, grinning and leaning back in his chair, kicking his legs out under the table to hook his ankle around Raleigh’s. “I’d be really surprised if I’d met two people in the last month who have eight inch dicks, just, like, statistically.”

 

“I didn’t say they were going to be in my ass,” Yancy said. “Can you imagine what the two of them get up to?” He shook his head, a little fearful.

Raleigh just sighed, hoping that they could avoid talking about his dick again. He would like that.

“I have one,” Alona said.

 

“One what? One eight inch dick?” Chuck said, smiling. He hadn’t talked as much with Alona as with Imogene, and time spent with the group was more occupied with thoughts of Raleigh, but maybe that was a mistake. “Damn, putting me to shame. I should get a dick job. Is that even a thing?”

 

“I feel they are not very successful,” Alona said, taking a very long drink of her wine. “If you do not like that, you should give it to me,” she said to Chuck, pushing her glass towards him.

“Where have you been keeping it?” Yancy asked.

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

 

Chuck slid his full wineglass over to her and took a drink from his water, rinsing the wine from his mouth. “Wow, this conversation is getting me hot,” he deadpanned. “No seriously, stop.”

 

“Do you just want an excuse to take off another piece of clothing?” Yancy asked. “Unless it’s your tie, that might be indecent. Has anyone looked at the menu?”

Raleigh shook his head - he wasn’t used to eating somewhere this fancy and, much as he liked the idea, the prices were higher than he was used to paying for food. But then, he reminded himself, he only had one more day off to spend with Chuck and then it was the inevitable. “Steak is usually safe, right?” he asked.

 

“Totally,” Chuck said, flipping through the menu. Limited selection, which was a good sign. “I, uh, would it be too stereotypical to get barbecued shrimp?” Barbecue seemed like a stretch of terms, because it was sauteed in reduced white wine and spices, but, eh, shrimp was shrimp.

 

“Because of the barbecue, or the shrimp?” Yancy asked. “Is either a stereotype?”

 

Chuck squinted at him. “Throw another shrimp on the barbie? You’ve seriously never heard of that?” Fuck, he heard that every time Americans heard him speak for the first time. No wonder the Beckets hadn’t used that one, if they’d never heard of it before.

 

“Nope,” said Yancy. Raleigh shook his head too. “Is it from something? We grew up in the wilderness, so we tend to be fairly pop-culturally deprived.” Raleigh looked to the side slightly and pressed his lips together.

 

“Oh,” Chuck said, almost a sigh. “I knew I liked you for a reason.”

He nudged Raleigh under the table, head cocked to the side. He really couldn’t fathom what had been said to upset Raleigh, if that’s what was happening.

 

“Thanks, Chuck,” Yancy said. “I really appreciate that. My hoser credentials don’t often amount to much, but…” He gave Chuck a big smile.

“Hoser?” Alona asked.

“It’s a Canadian redneck,” Yancy said, and noted that Raleigh still had an odd look in his eyes. Damnit. He could never tell when he would get Raleigh going, even after all these years. Alona nodded her head.

“I thought Alaska was in America,” Alona replied, taking another long sip of wine.

“It is,” Raleigh replied. “Sort of.” He wasn’t sure what it was, exactly - no, it was the raised in the wilderness comment. Because they really sort of had been, after mom and dad and Jaz…

 

Chuck bit his lip, worrying his napkin between his fingers. He shot a tentative smile at Raleigh, confused at Raleigh’s uncharacteristic withdrawal, and more confused at his part in it. He really didn’t think he’d done anything this time, but… Hell, he didn’t know.

“It’s from an old commercial from the 80s,” Chuck said. “Popular Aussie phrase, you know. Throw another shrimp on the barbie, the dingoes ate my baby, g’day mate.” He shrugged.

 

“Wait, wait, are dingoes real?” Yancy asked, suddenly intrigued. Then he paused when he caught a look from Alona.

“I am going to go to the bathroom,” she said. “Excuse me.”

“I think I’m going as well,” Yancy said, and shook his head and then followed her.

Raleigh looked at Chuck and smiled. “Sorry, just...we were kind of literally raised in the wilderness, you know?”

 

Chuck shook his head. “Not really…? Is that a bad thing?”

 

“No, sorry, just...when we were by ourselves, I meant,” Raleigh said, aware that he’d never mentioned that to Chuck, really. He swallowed. It was stupid to start thinking that just based on some off-handed comment from Yancy, but...well, he could never help when this stuff came up.

 

Chuck looked down. “When, uh… I know it’s not the same, but when my mum - I stopped spending summers in Sydney, after. That’s why I got into extreme sports, to give me somewhere to…” He took a long drink of water, face flaring up. He hated talking about emotional bullshit.

 

“Yeah,” Raleigh said. “Yancy didn’t really want to go back, either, so. We became employees of Cedar Hills, which...has been really good. Even when I get pant’sed by someone at girls camp at the banquet night.” He nodded his head, sensing Chuck was uncomfortable and figuring they had done enough talking about that kind of stuff.

 

“And now you know why,” Chuck smiled. “Elaborate plots, and all.” He laid his hand over Raleigh’s on the table, unsure if Raleigh was actually feeling better or just faking a smile. “Are you… Is there anything I can do?”

 

“Thanks, I’m good though,” Raleigh said. “Just sometimes it kind of...I don’t know, the way Yancy said it, or something, and I couldn’t not…” He shrugged. “I’m good now.” Alona and Yancy came back from the bathroom, perfectly timed, holding hands. “Bit quick for a blow job, eh?”

 

Chuck leaned back in his chair, grinning. “On that delightful note, should we order?” He folded his menu and set it down. “Fuck it, let’s throw another shrimp on the barbie.”

 

“Excellent,” said Yancy. “I’m going to do the lamb, I think, so the red wine doesn’t go to fucking waste.”

Alona rolled her eyes. “At least people know about Australia,” she said. “Everyone I meet thinks I am from the Netherlands.”

“I think it might be all the pot smoking you do,” Yancy replied. “Just a thought?”

The waiter came and took their order. Raleigh waffled - the steak was fucking expensive - but then he figured, carpe diem, and all of that. “He didn’t even write the orders down,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve been anywhere this nice.”

 

“You’re cute,” Chuck said. He looked across the table at Alona. “D’you go to uni in the States, or…?”

 

“No,” she said. “I’m here on the international counselor exchange. I have a year left at University of Copenhagen, then…” She shrugged her shoulders. “How about you?”

 

“MIT,” he said. “Needed to get the fuck out of Dodge.” He looked at Yancy. “That’s not even an Aussie reference, so there’s no excuse for not understanding it.”

 

“Right, no, got it,” he said. “I mean, I know what it means but I have no clue what it’s from.” He shrugged his shoulders and looked at Raleigh.

“You know I’m not good at that-”

“Unless it has to do with Mean Girls, then you’ve got it on lockdown,” Yancy said. “Chuck, try some of the red wine,” he said, pouring himself a little bit and then splashing some into Chuck’s glass. “This one is from Dodge.”

 

Chuck warily tasted the wine. “Nope, worse,” he said, shaking his head.

 

“You are young still,” Alona said.

“You have to start with the stuff that tastes like grape juice,” Raleigh said. “Then your palate gradually grows to appreciate drier wine.” He had to try very hard not to whistle when his steak was set in front of him - it was the size of his head, at least, and Chuck had an enormous pile of shrimp to get through.

They talked, and ate, and Raleigh was completely stuffed and didn’t even want to think about any kind of dessert aside from Chuck. He gave him a long, lingering gaze when Alona asked if either of them wanted something and then slid his foot up his leg under the table.

 

Chuck coughed into his water glass, inhaling water and choking on it. “Oh, uh, I’m good,” he said. “I’m pretty full.”

 

“Excellent,” said Alona. “You two should go before one of you gets an erection. I will get the bill.”

 

“I like her. Yance, you have my blessing,” Chuck said, grinning. He dug out his wallet and pulled out a fifty, sliding it over the table to her.

 

“No, I mean, I will pay the bill, Hansen,” Alona said, sliding the bill back to him.

 

“I realize that, appreciate the intention, and am going to completely ignore it,” Chuck said, lifting his hands away from the table entirely, so that the bill was left in front of his seat.

 

“Right then,” Alona said. “Enjoy your evening!” She waved at them while Yancy shook his head at both of them.

“I think she’s rich,” Raleigh said when they left the restaurant. “I told Yancy he should move to socialist paradise with her and provide her with pretty blonde babies.” He always got a little silly and soft feeling on wine.

 

“Fuck if I care, that’s my dad’s money,” Chuck said, undoing his tie entirely and leaving both ends dangling around his neck. “He threatened to kill me if I let you lot pay. Granted, he thought it’d be you, but still.”

 

“Chuck,” Raleigh said, and he sighed - he was really glad Herc looked out for them, but sometimes it felt a little excessive. “We could have bought, like, sex things or something.”

 

“I’m not buying sex things with Herc’s money,” Chuck said, making a face. “S’not exactly breaking the bank for him to pay for my dinner, but - fuck, I can buy lube with my own money.” He tucked his hands in his pockets. “Or - oooh, we could get a vibrator, really blow your brains out.”

 

“I don’t think there are any stores around here that sell vibrators, sadly,” Raleigh said. “Aside from those, like, little disposable Trojan ones.”

 

Chuck nodded. He turned around, walking backwards in front of Raleigh. “So what’s the agenda for tonight, love? I was thinking we could take a long, moonlit walk under the stars. Get some late night fast food, get to bed early?” He grinned, dimples flashing.

 

“You’re...no,” said Raleigh. “That is not the plan. We are going back to the hotel and we are going to fuck.” He lunged forward and wrapped an arm around Chuck’s waist and pulled him in for a kiss.

 

Chuck laughed, wrapping his arms around Raleigh’s neck. He kept walking backwards, steps stilted. “So what’s the agenda for tonight, love?” he repeated. “You’ve got my ass on tap, whatever you want. Say the word.”

 

“Well, I didn’t really think that far beyond that,” Raleigh said, thoughtful. Actually, he couldn’t think of anything he specifically wanted, he just wanted to be with Chuck. “I don’t know...is there anything you’re aching to do?”

 

Chuck shrugged. “I feel like most of my kinks have been addressed. Kinda just wanna fuck you.” He traced his finger over Raleigh’s lips. “I’d gag you, but I like the sound of your voice too much.”

 

“I’d like that,” Raleigh said. “I mean the fucking, and agree on the gagging. I like talking. Damnit, wine.” He shook his fist slightly and then gave Chuck a loopy smile.

 

“This is gonna be fun,” Chuck said, biting at his lower lip. “You’re pretty adorable all wined and dined.” Apparently romance was a thing for Raleigh, which Chuck could have guessed, what with the way he ended up there as the terms of a bet. “I can do poetry too, if you’d like.”

 

“Aren’t I the one who is supposed to be reciting poetry?” Raleigh asked, remembering what they had said last week about the little campers and their fantasies. Things he did not need to know.

 

Chuck laughed, combing his fingers through Raleigh’s hair. “Yeah, maybe you’ll be able to crack through my icy shell to the warm gooey center inside.” He nuzzled Raleigh’s neck. Maybe he shouldn’t be mocking; he was feeling pretty gooey right then.

 

“Break down your walls, Chuck,” Raleigh corrected, not wanting to actually reply to that statement.

 

“Sure, whatever,” Chuck said. “So are we getting out of here, or what?” He moved away, lengthening his stride to get to the hotel faster. He undid another two of the buttons on his shirt, grinning at Raleigh over his shoulder.

 

“Oh that’s not fair!” Raleigh protested as Chuck started stripping basically on the sidewalk. “I wanted to undress you…” He pouted, matching Chuck’s stride.

 

“I spoil you,” Chuck said, shaking his head as he did all of his buttons up, all the way to his collar, and tightened his tie again. He tugged his sleeves back into place and asked, “Are suits a thing for you?”

 

“Maybe?” Raleigh said. “First and second thing I thought, when I saw you, was how good you looked, and then how much I wanted to get everything off of you...’

 

“Now, imagine thinking that every time you look at me, and you’ll get an idea of what it’s like to be your boyfriend,” Chuck said, and then blushed, turning his face away so Raleigh wouldn’t see. It wasn’t something he would normally admit, but - Raleigh was so insecure, and had somehow missed the fact that he was god’s gift to everyone with even a passing interest in cock. It was common decency for Chuck to inform him, right?

 

“Oh, um…” Raleigh said, and he felt himself blush hard. He wrapped his arm around Chuck’s waist and nuzzled into his neck. He was starting to understand what Chuck said, but it made him - he had never asked to be this guy. He had just wanted to lose enough weight that guys would stop asking him if he could see his own cock. “I think that every time I look at you, too, it’s just...I don’t know. You looked so grumpy but you looked so fucking good.”

 

Chuck laughed. “Wow, flattering. Good to know I can pull off one of these, though,” he said, tugging at his collar. “Course, this thing probably costs more than a year’s salary for me, but Calvin Klein isn’t cheap, or something? I don’t even know.”

 

“Um, it’s a pretty decent cost,” Raleigh said, and he could hear what some of his classmates might say about Calvin Klein suiting in his head. Or Yancy. Fuck. “Like five hundred dollars, maybe?”

 

“Hyperbole,” Chuck said, flapping his hand. “Regardless, glad you like it.” He turned and shot a wicked grin at Raleigh, adjusting the knot of his tie. He liked that Raleigh liked him in a suit - made it almost worth wrestling the damn thing on.

 

“I do. Did? Not did yet,” Raleigh said, but he was relieved they were at the hotel and opened the door to the hall their room was done. “Fuck.” He palmed at his cock in his pants, already started to get hard. Stupid wine.

 

Chuck nudged him inside, pressing up against his back and mouthing at the nape of his neck. “Are you this easy because of the wine or the suit? For future reference.” He smoothed his hand up Raleigh’s belly over his shirt.

 

“Both,” Raleigh said. “Wine always makes me horny, though…” He pouted and pulled Chuck into a head-on, deep kiss and sucked his bottom lip before releasing him. The he kissed down Chuck’s neck and sucked, long and deep, wanting to leave a mark of his own right above the collar. Then he put his hands on the tie and carefully loosened it, groaning slightly as he did.

 

Chuck pulled off his jacket and let it fall to the ground behind him, but he left the rest to Raleigh, because he seemed so interested in undressing him. Instead, he tugged Raleigh’s shirt out of his belt and slid his hands up Raleigh’s belly, fingers greedily seeking out warm skin. He skated his fingernails up and over Raleigh’s abs and pectorals, finding his nipples and thumbing over them lightly. “Wish I had known that earlier. I like you this eager.” He ground his own half-hard cock against Raleigh’s thigh through their slacks.

 

“I’m always eager,” Raleigh said. “Just...reserved.” He groaned as Chuck thumbed over his nipple again and undid two buttons on the top of Chuck’s shirt and then kissed a little lower, taking in the scent and taste of Chuck. He ran his hand down Chuck’s side and settled at the curve of his ass and squeezed. “You have such a great ass.”

 

“You’ve said,” Chuck said, amused. “But you haven’t fucked me from behind yet. We should fix that this weekend.” He undid Raleigh’s belt, and then his button, delving his hand into his undone zipper to wrap lightly around his cock. He liked this look - Raleigh, disheveled and messy, still fully dressed and already desperate for him.

“Not tonight, though,” he said, kissing Raleigh’s neck and pumping his cock with long, smooth strokes. “Tonight I’m getting you on your back for me. So pretty, I can’t even…”

 

“Mmm, good,” Raleigh said, gently bucking his cock into Chuck’s hand, now almost fully hard and needing so much more. Chuck was going to string this out, though. Chuck was going to make him ache. Raleigh groaned and carefully pulled off the rest of Chuck’s buttons. He let the shirt hang around him and ran a hand through his chest hair, gently over his nipples, and down his stomach.

 

Chuck sighed against Raleigh’s neck. He would have loved to fuck Raleigh with the suit on, but he didn’t actually want to see the look on Herc’s face if he came home with come all over Stacker’s clothes. Just a little longer, then he’d take them off.

“I think you should get naked for me,” he said, thumbing over the head of Raleigh’s cock. “And I wanna watch you do it.”

 

“Like strip?” Raleigh asked. “Do a little dance?” He turned around and arched his back and undulated, like he had the first night when he was land swimming, emphasizing his ass. He circled it again and then tugged his jacket off, then laughed. “Sorry, I can’t…”

He turned and instead licked his lower lip, long and slow, and loosened his tie slightly as he took Chuck in with the shirt hanging open over his perfect body - broad, strong, covered with just the right amount of soft red hair. “Fuck, you’re gorgeous…”

 

“I just meant take your clothes off, but that’d be actually kinda hot,” Chuck said, laughing. He undid his own belt. “And I’d tell you to take a picture, it would last longer, only I’m not big on cliches.” He palmed his own cock, smirking.

 

Raleigh just smiled back at him and moved his hips slightly as he pulled the rest of the buttons off of his shirt and then slid it off. Chuck had got his pants most of the way off, so he sat down on the bed to remove his shoes and socks, then eased them to the rest of the way. He leaned back, emphasizing how hard he was in his boxer briefs, then reached under the band and took them off, slowly.

He watched Chuck, glad to see he was into this. Really into this, it seemed.

 

Chuck groaned. “Now that, I want a picture of,” he said, hands moving to the button and zipper of his slacks. “Permission to get undressed, or would you rather I kept it on?” Stacker could deal.

 

“Keep it on,” Raleigh murmured. “At least for now.” He shuffled back on the bed, watching as the tie still swung around Chuck’s neck. As soon as Chuck got close he grabbed at it and tugged him closer, pulling him over top of him. Raleigh twisted the tie and pulled him in for a short, blistering kiss, plunging into Chuck’s mouth and twisting his tongue with his. “Now you can take it off.”

 

“Mm, maybe I wanna…” Chuck said, trailing his lips down over Raleigh’s neck. He licked and nibbled a trail down his chest, all the way to his cock, which he ignored in favor of sucking on Raleigh’s thighs to see him twitch.

Then he pulled off, sighing. “If they were mine, I’d wear them the whole time I fucked you, but…” He pulled off the tie and shirt, tossing them to the side, then took a minute to strip from the waist down. Then he climbed back onto the bed and over Raleigh, rolling his body down just to feel the warmth and firmness of Raleigh’s naked body against his.

 

“Mmm,” Raleigh murmured, then he sighed into Chuck’s neck. He felt so good over top of him, heavy, sturdy, all firm muscle. He bucked his hips to get his cock in contact with Chuck’s, so they could slide against each other, at least have some friction.

He spread his legs a little wider to get more access to Chuck and put a hand on his chest to gently massage his nipple, work his hands through the hair there. He sighed at the sensation, tugged a little and then kissed Chuck’s neck.

 

“You should tell me what you want,” Chuck said, trailing his fingertips over Raleigh’s thigh, still slick with his saliva. He grinned, remembering their first time together, tying Raleigh up and making him, and… “If you beg nice enough, maybe I’ll give it to you.”

He slid his hand to Raleigh’s thigh, hitching it up to give him a better angle to grind into it, sweet and slow enough to make his eyes cross. He moved his hand to take both their cocks in it, stroking them both.

 

“I want you inside me,” Raleigh said. Often, with Chuck, he felt like he should have more elaborate, more interesting wants. After all, the guy had had a threesome. Instead, all he could think was that _I want you to make love to me,_ which was sad, for so many reasons. Mostly because this was the second to last day off they had to spend together. “I want you to fuck me. Slow. And deep.”

 

“I can do that,” Chuck said, licking his lips. He disentangled himself from Raleigh for a moment and went to go grab the lube from his bag before returning, sliding back into place with a soft noise of contentment. He rolled half off of him, leaning on one arm as he slicked up his fingers and trailed them between Raleigh’s cheeks. He kissed his neck. “Yeah, I’d be more than happy to do that.” He eased one finger inside, pleased to find Raleigh so relaxed for him.

 

“Fuck, that’s…” Raleigh sighed as Chuck pressed into him, and he shifted so that his hole was at an easier angle for Chuck to work. “That’s really good, Chuck, you’re always…” He moaned as Chuck slid his finger in further and hooked it right on his prostate. Raleigh met his eyes and smiled at him.

 

“What am I always, Rals?” Chuck teased, adding another finger and scissoring them. He might have made fun of Raleigh for telling him how good he was all the time during sex, but he realized Raleigh had a lot of ammunition to fire back with the way Chuck reacted whenever Raleigh said that he wanted to be good for him. So, not bringing that up. He thrust his cock against Raleigh’s hip, bending over him to kiss him messily as he worked him open.

 

“You’re always...you know what to do,” Raleigh said, after he released Chuck from the kiss. “How you need to do them, to make me feel good,” He thrust against Chuck’s fingers, taking them in deeper, and groaned. He reached over and pushed some hair out of Chuck’s face and smiled at him. “You’re always so good.”

 

That kind of compliment had been the reason Chuck wanted to get better at sex in the first place, the spread of warmth in his belly, hearing Raleigh say that about him. But it felt different coming from Raleigh, also, and Chuck forced himself not to think about why, because -

“I want to make you feel good,” he said, twisting his wrist. “Love the noises you make, fuck.” He pressed his forehead to Raleigh’s. “Ready, or you need more?”

 

Raleigh gazed at him for a moment, taking in the flecks of blue and brown in Chuck’s eyes. He kissed him lightly and then nodded. “I’m ready,” he said. “I’ve been pretty much ready all night.” He shuffled back a bit further so he was in the pillows of the bed and spread his legs wide.

As Chuck got between his legs he grabbed his cock and pumped it, slowly, twisting his hand and moaning at the contact.

 

“You’re so fucking pretty,” Chuck said, slicking his hand over his cock and then positioning himself. He pushed inside slowly, mindful of Raleigh’s request. Then he rested there, head hanging forward, taking deep, even breaths. He grinned up at Raleigh. “All night, huh? You were thinking about this at the restaurant?”

 

“Yes,” Raleigh said. “How you were going to look as I took that suit off of you...how you were going to look right now.” He shifted, getting a better position as Chuck rested inside of him and then drew his legs around Chuck’s waist, eager for the contact. He squeezed around Chuck, clenching for a long moment before releasing.

 

Chuck slid his hand around to Raleigh’s ass, squeezing the toned, tight muscles there. “Honestly, sweetheart, I spent the whole meal thinking about getting my dick inside your arse. Had to go to the bathroom to pull myself together. Thought about just jerking off there, but…” He grinned to show he was kidding. “Thank god for the Texas Tuck, yeah?”

As he spoke, he pulled out and slid back in, torturously slow, pressing Raleigh’s prostate with the head of his cock with every grind. Raleigh had no idea what he was getting himself into, asking for ‘slow and deep.’

 

He groaned as Chuck slid into him, feeling each inch that he moved, slow and deep, the contact to his prostate just the right amount of pressure. It felt fucking amazing, given how tight he was already strung from the meal, from Chuck in that goddamned suit. He squeezed his legs around Chuck.

“Texas Tuck?” Raleigh asked, imagining Chuck in the bathroom like that, desperate for him. “Did you like my suit too?”

 

Chuck nodded. “Your shoulders, Christ,” he said. “And your chest looks so - and fuck, your ass, and those thighs, fucking Christ. Wanted to put you on your back over the table and just fuck you there.” He gave a low moan and rolled his hips, trying to find the perfect angle for both of them. Pressing his face into Raleigh’s neck, he found the faded hickeys from the week before and sucked hard over them, wanting the marks to last.

 

“Thighs?” Raleigh asked, squeezing Chuck with them again and pressing back into the slow, deep strokes that Chuck was fucking him with, just like he’d asked. “Yeah, make them last, Chuck. Mark me.” He groaned as Chuck sucked harder and then bit, slightly, took his hand and turned Chuck’s face so he could kiss him, sloppy, wet, needy.

 

Chuck shuddered when Raleigh asked him that, because fuck, it was already hot enough to have his teeth imprinted on Raleigh’s neck like a brand, but - that Raleigh wanted it, was gagging for it, _fuck_. He kissed back just as fervently, glad for the slow pace so he could devote his attention to kissing Raleigh until his head spun.

He took Raleigh’s cock in his hand and rubbed it as he kept kissing him, light over the head and the sensitive nerves on the underside. Bit at Raleigh’s lower lip as he pulled away, his lips and chin slick with spit. “Fuck, so good, love,” he said, closing his eyes as his hips rocked in, out, in, out, a steady wave.

 

“It is, fuck,” Raleigh said, and he reached and rubbed gently where Chuck had bit him and smiled at him. They both looked wrecked, and Raleigh issued a deep moan when Chuck put his hand on his cock and hitting all the most sensitive spots. “Chuck, so fucking good…” Even though Chuck was moving slowly, he was hitting Raleigh right where he needed it, making him feel full and warm and it was all building with each stroke.

He’d got what he wanted, he realized, and he sighed deeply at the thought and then pushed it out of his head. He rocked his hips against Chuck and then pulled his legs off of his waist. “Chuck, I want...hold on,” he said, and then pressed both legs against Chuck’s shoulders and pulled them down, close to his own shoulders. Chuck sank deep into him and Raleigh moaned.

 

“Didn’t know you were that flexible,” Chuck said, biting his lip, eyes hooded. His whole body flexed as he fucked into Raleigh, every muscle rippling with the effort. For all the sex he’d had, he’d never lasted this long this slow before, normally picking up the pace in a race towards the finish. But he could feel himself spiraling already, stomach tightening up, pressure building under his skin.

He pressed his forehead into Raleigh’s chest, hips starting to stutter.

 

Raleigh grinned - he’d spent a lot of the spring working on his flexibility explicitly, hoping to improve for his junior season. This was an unplanned but excellent benefit.

“Yeah, now, Chuck,” Raleigh said. “I’m close, I want to come, I want you to…” He reached a hand and stroked the back of Chuck’s hair, tangled his fingers into it. “Just a little faster, a little more…”

 

Chuck was all too happy to comply, hips instantly snapping into Raleigh in tighter, faster thrusts. He groaned, fingers flexing around Raleigh’s cock. “You’re so good for me, you know - you should know that,” he gritted out. “So fucking good.” He was so close he could feel his balls tightening up with it, and the rolls of his hips turns loose and uneven.

 

Raleigh was fucking close, Chuck’s harder thrusts driving him right to the edge, even as he lost his normal control over them.

Raleigh knew Chuck was close, so he leaned as close as he could get to Chuck’s ear. “I’m glad, Chuck. I want to be good for you. I want to be so good.” He moaned as Chuck flicked into him, harder, and then came in Chuck’s hand, bursting with his orgasm - it was slower, longer, deeper, not something that was going to make him black out but the feeling was warmer and he felt more connected to Chuck than he had before. “Come for me, Chuck.”

 

Raleigh’s words hit him like a physical touch, as if they had a direct line to his cock. He moaned, louder than normal, and came hard, body jerking as he spilled inside him. His chest rose and fell, deep and rasping, and he slumped over Raleigh, shuddering. “I should…” he said, starting to push off Raleigh with arms shaking from exertion.

 

“No, stay,” Raleigh said, and he reached and put his hand back in Chuck’s hair, stroking it gently, working through the now-sweaty locks. “Just for a minute, Chuck.” He wanted to stay like this forever.

 

Chuck didn’t need any more encouragement than that, collapsing over onto Raleigh and barely catching himself on his arms from crushing him. He eased himself down, sliding so his head was resting on Raleigh’s chest. “Was that… good?” he said, uncharacteristically nervous. But that had been - different, in ways he couldn’t describe.

 

“It was fucking amazing,” Raleigh said, because it had been, and he shifted his legs to get more comfortable. He caught the nerves in Chuck’s voices and so he might have overemphasized things. He didn’t know why he would be. Raleigh had told him over and over how amazing he was in bed.

 

Chuck smiled. “Good,” he said, pressing a kiss to Raleigh’s chest. “I, uh, yeah.” He rested his chin on his folded hands, smiling up at Raleigh. “I had a good time, tonight. Even if wine is the fucking worst, and I feel gypped.”

 

“About wine?” Raleigh asked. “I’ll get you some nice Niagara grape wine, we’ll get you started there.” He pat Chuck’s back consolingly. “I had a really nice time tonight, too.”

 

Chuck’s smile widened. “Well, I hear I look pretty dashing in a suit, so…” He pulled out, but flopped back down so his weight was laid out on Raleigh again. “I like Alona,” he said, apropos of nothing. “I get why Yancy’s dumb about her.”

 

“Is he dumb about her?” Raleigh asked. He hadn’t really noticed, and that was...he was a bad brother. How much time had Yancy spent talking to him about Chuck, and he’d had his head completely up his ass?

 

Chuck shrugged. “Maybe he’s just generally dumb and I can’t tell the difference.” He yawned. “I don’t know, he’s into her, I get it, that’s all.”

 

“Yeah,” Raleigh said. “She’s hot, right?” He was pretty sure, but he wanted confirmation.

 

“Hell yes,” Chuck said, perhaps a little too emphatically. “Really fucking… I mean, yeah, she’s pretty.”

 

“No, it’s...I was legitimately curious,” Raleigh said, and he laughed. “She’s not Yancy’s type at all, so…” He resumed stroking Chuck’s hair, aware that Chuck was probably going to fall asleep on him like this. Though after the sex and all he had eaten - the food coma - and the wine, he probably wasn’t going to be far behind.

 

Chuck raised his eyebrows. “What is it about super hot blond European sheilas that isn’t his type?” He nuzzled into Raleigh’s chest. He estimated he had about five minutes until he fell asleep, especially if Raleigh kept petting his hair.

 

“Usually it’s short brunettes,” Raleigh said. “And never someone taller than him.” He sighed as he kept stroking Chuck’s hair, wondering if he could put him to sleep by doing this.

 

Chuck yawned again. “So what’s your type, then? Good asses, I know.” He smirked. “Chest hair.”

 

“Not really? I mean, not something I seek out,” Raleigh said. “I just, uh, really like yours. A lot. Um, muscular. Broad shoulders.” Don’t say douchebags, he told himself. Don’t say douchebags.

 

Chuck nodded. “You’re one to talk, sweetheart. Your abs, shit.” He kissed Raleigh briefly. “There must be a lot of those on the swim team, yeah? Lucky.”

 

“Abs? Yeah, generally,” Raleigh said. “Is that what caught your attention first? My abs?” Sleepy Chuck was really adorable, but he kind of felt like he was taking advantage of him.

 

“I already told you that,” Chuck said, poking him. “And the smile, and, um, those hip things. And then the massive cock, obviously.”

 

“Yes,” Raleigh said. “I liked your dimples.” He’d seen Chuck smiling with Max, when he hadn’t thought anyone was looking. “We’re gonna get stuck together, Chuck.”

 

“You’re the one who…” Chuck said, pouting and hiding his face in Raleigh’s chest. “Your job.”

 

“Sure,” he said, and kissed the top of Chuck’s head. “You’re just going to have to roll off, love.” It slid out of his mouth - all the times Chuck had used it. He felt his throat tighten slightly.

 

Chuck picked up his head slowly. He stared at Raleigh.

“Okay,” he whispered, and rolled off.

 

Raleigh slid off of the bed easily and padded into the bathroom to get a few warm washcloths. He looked at himself in the mirror and swallowed, hard, and then blinked. Had he just done something wrong? He felt like...he shook his head and walked back into the room and sat next to Chuck on the bed.

 

Chuck smiled at him, but it was small, unsteady. “It sounds different in an American accent.” More serious, more intentional. More of a… statement, almost. “Does it sound like that coming from me?”

 

“Um,” Raleigh said. “No, it just sounds like, you know, babe, sweetheart, those kinds of words,” he said, and he slowly wiped across Chuck’s stomach where he had some of Raleigh’s come on him, then cleaned his cock before he stood and wiped himself.

 

“It’s okay,” Chuck said quickly, hearing Raleigh’s uncertainty in his voice. “I like it when you say...”

And then he closed his eyes, cursing at himself internally. You asshole, he thought. You fucking asshole. That was just mean. Getting his hopes up when they both knew…

 

“Mmm,” Raleigh said, not exactly sure what had just happened and really not wanting to think about it. He took the washcloths back to the bathroom, then climbed into the bed next to Chuck. He leaned in and kissed the back of his neck. “You mind if I put the TV on?”

 

Oh, thank god, Chuck thought, and nodded. “But you know I’m gonna pass out in like… a minute, so you could be watching murder porn and I wouldn’t notice.”

 

“I know,” Raleigh said, keeping his voice fond. “Don’t know if they offer murder porn - unless you mean Law & Order: SVU.”

 

“Sure, let’s go with that,” Chuck said, ruffling his hair and then lying down. He missed Max’s weight, and pulled a pillow into his arms as a poor replacement for it.

 

Raleigh leaned over and kissed Chuck on his cheek this time, then propped himself up on some pillows and got the show on. He glanced over at Chuck, noticing the tension in his back, and almost said something, but then decided against it.

 _Well,_ he thought, _at least Yancy and I will both be upset on the drive back to Amherst._

 

* * *

 

Raleigh glanced around the bunk, making sure there weren’t any important items left behind - either his, or the campers. Content that everything was cleaned out he signed his name onto the sheet and then grabbed his duffle bag and walked out.

He sort of panicked as he watched everyone say goodbye, realizing he and Chuck’s reluctance to acknowledge this was going to happen meant they had discussed the mechanics of it at all. Yancy had already headed across the lake to meet up with Alona, telling Raleigh he wanted to be on the road by two. Presumably Herc was going to make Chuck wait for him, which didn’t give them too many places outside the eyes of the other counselors…

Whatever. What was there to say, anyway? He tossed his duffle over his shoulder and walked towards Chuck’s cabin.

 

Chuck tossed his last folded shirt into his bag and zipped it up. He looked around, making sure he had everything, and only then noticed Max wriggling at the door, looking excited.

He opened the door. “Hey,” he said, as Raleigh approached. Chuck tossed his duffle out the door, having already moved most of his stuff to Herc’s cabin. “When are you guys heading out?”

 

“Um, I need to meet Yancy in about forty-five minutes,” Raleigh said, setting his duffle on the ground and leaning down to pet Max, who was eagerly trying to crawl onto him, maybe even into him. “He already took a boat over.”

 

“Damn,” Chuck said. “No time for a quickie, then.” But he didn’t really achieve the deadpan he was going for, tone faltering by the end of the sentence.

This sucked. Poor life choices, Hansen, he thought.

 

“Yeah, doesn’t look like,” Raleigh said, keeping his attention on Max as he scrunched his ears. “Cots are rubbish for that, anyway.” He looked up and met Chuck’s eyes and did his best to give him a wry, half smile.

 

Chuck kicked at the ground. “This kinda sucks,” he said, because honesty and all. “What’s the best way to do this?”

 

“Yeah, it does,” Raleigh said. “Um, I don’t know?” He was close to saying something, like, don’t you have a lot of experience with this, but held it in. “Never really done this before.” Even if he had known a relationship wasn’t doing well, there had never been a scheduled break-up before.

 

“Me neither,” Chuck said. He looked down at Max, eyelashes fanning over his cheeks. “So I guess… I mean, don’t you think it’s better to cut it off cleanly? No bullshit promises about keeping up contact, because…” _I just don’t have it in me_ , he thought.

 

“Yeah, probably,” Raleigh said, and he scratched at the back of his neck and sighed. He already felt his eyes start to well up and he blinked, because he wasn’t going to do this. He was going to be fucking dignified, here.

 

Chuck swallowed. And to think, he’d so been looking forward to going to school, before. “I -” he started, and stepped forward, arms slightly outstretched. But he wasn’t sure if Raleigh would want to touch him, not when he was the one doing the dumping. Seemed presumptuous to…

 

Raleigh slid right into Chuck, slotted right into his chest like he had so many times before. He wrapped his arms around Chuck before Chuck really did the same, but he didn’t care. “Yeah?”

 

Chuck’s arms tightened around Raleigh’s chest with a fervor that could only come from desperate relief. “I had a really good summer,” he said, smiling, but his voice was rough. “Maybe my best ever.”

 

“Really?” Raleigh asked, inhaling Chuck’s distinctive scent and sighing a little. “Even though you only went cliff jumping just that one time?” He wanted to hug Chuck forever, but that would be very counterproductive, so he eventually pulled back and looked at the ground.

 

“Yeah, well, it was some good bloody cliff diving,” Chuck said. He tipped Raleigh’s face up to meet his eyes, then curled his hands around his jaw and kissed him, so deeply he may well have been trying to suck out his fillings. Deep, and hungry, and so clearly telegraphing all the neediness he would normally try his best to keep under wraps, but right now…

 

Raleigh kissed him back, as deeply as Chuck kissed him, wanting to preserve something even though he knew that it had all shifted and changed. There was something different in the kiss, too, something Chuck normally didn’t allow himself to expose, but Raleigh wasn’t going to analyze these things because he was just going to drive himself insane.

 

Eventually, Chuck drew away. His hands lingered on Raleigh’s face for another moment before dropping away. “I don’t wanna drag this out,” he said, grimacing. “I just - Is there anything else you wanted to…?” Stupid, he told himself. For giving Raleigh the opening.

For hoping that he took it, somewhere in the back recesses of his mind. Which was selfish, but - He just wanted to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he had mattered, to Raleigh.

 

“I had a really good summer too,” Raleigh said, and he inhaled slowly to try and maintain control over things. “I, um...it meant a lot to me.” This hurt worse than he thought that it would, and fuck, he had been so stupid and deluded, hadn’t he? I can handle it because I know it’s coming. “You’re, uh...really great, Chuck,” he said.

He bent down and scratched Max’s ears for the last time. Max’s tail had stopped wiggling - he must have sensed something was up. Then he looked up at Chuck, waiting to see if he had anything to say.

 

Chuck gave a wordless noise of agreement, turning away. He could feel tears gathering in his eyes, and it was all so stupid, and he couldn’t let Raleigh see him like this. He walked to the window, setting his elbows on the sill. Bowed his head.

“You too,” he said quietly, perhaps too quietly for Raleigh to hear. What was he supposed to say? Brush things off with a joke about taking care of Yancy? Tell Raleigh to be safe? Tell him to be happy?

In the end, he stayed silent, frozen like a statue at the window, shoulders visibly tensed under the light fabric of his t-shirt.

 

“I know you’ll do great at MIT,” Raleigh said, and stood and walked out - Chuck was clearly done, standing there, tense like he was. He grabbed his duffle and jogged down for the dock, hoping that he didn’t get intercepted by anyone on the way. That he could get Aleksis or someone to take him over by himself.

And, fuck - he had half an hour to kill, too. He wasn’t going to interrupt Yancy’s own goodbye.

 

Herc was leaving the boat dock when Raleigh arrived, having said his goodbyes to another batch of counselors. “Oh,” he said, stopping short. “He’ll be back soon.” He paused, looking at Raleigh’s face.

And grimaced, because his idiot son.

“You be good, Becket,” Herc said, offering his hand. “Hope you’ll consider coming back next summer. You’re good with the kids - never heard a bad thing about you from anyone.”

 

Fuck, Raleigh thought, because this was exactly what he didn’t need. Still, he composed himself and smiled at Herc, holding his hands out. “Thanks, sir,” he said. “I’d love to,” he added, though that might depend on. Well. “I really like this place, so.” He stuck his hand in his pocket when Herc let it go and nodded at him. “Have a good winter. Or second summer, I suppose.”

 

Herc opened his mouth, then thought better of it. Wasn’t going to make any flippant comments about Chuck with Raleigh looking like that, like someone had just shot his dog in front of him. In the end, he just shook his head and walked away.

Idiot boys.

 

Raleigh was relieved to see Aleksis waiting with one of the water ski boats at the dock. “You mind, big guy?” he asked. Aleksis looked at him and shook his head no and mercifully left him alone as he cried while they made their way across the lake.

Raleigh hopped off and grabbed his duffle and waved at Aleksis, then looked at his watch. Twenty minutes. Goddamnit. He decided to head up to the parking lot, crack open a book, and wait for Yancy.


	12. Chapter 12

_Bring drugs,_ Yancy texted. _Stoned devastated Raleigh can’t be worse than just devastated Raleigh, right?_

 

 _Oi_ , Tendo texted back, and showed up 20 minutes later, paraphernalia in hand. He breezed into their apartment and into their living room, plopping down onto the couch. “The Beckets in their natural habitat!” he said. “I forgot what you looked like with your shirt on, Rals.”

 

“Oh,” Raleigh said, and he picked at his well-worn shirt and nodded his head. “Yeah.” He smiled at Tendo and shut his laptop. He hadn’t been doing anything in particular on it, anyway.

“Something to drink, Tendo?” Yancy asked from the small kitchenette.

 

“Milk,” Tendo said, grinning. “We’re having brownies, so…” He wagged his eyebrows and pulled a gallon-sized ziploc bag out of his pocket, in which were three brownies roughly the size of his hand.

 

“Excellent, just bought some,” Yancy said, and set three glasses and the gallon of milk down on the coffee table.

“Did you make these?” Raleigh asked. The last time Tendo had attempted baked goods it had not gone very well. He accepted his glass of milk from his brother.

 

“Nah, I just provided the ingredients,” Tendo said. Did Raleigh really think he was that dumb, after the last time?

 

“OK, then,” Raleigh said, and he accepted his brownie and took a massive chunk out of it and ate it. Might not have been the best plan, but he welcomed a numbing agent. He drank some milk. “They’re pretty good, actually.”

“Yeah, whoever you found knows what they’re doing,” Yancy agreed, stretching across the couch and shooting Tendo a look - wanting confirmation that Raleigh now looked like a puppy that had been pulled off the street after a week or two of wandering, homeless.

 

Tendo widened his eyes and nodded. _Russia puppy_ , he thought, and would have communicated this to Yancy if he didn’t think Yancy would just be baffled and think he was already baked.

“So,” Tendo said, studiously casual, “how’s the semester treating you so far, Rals?”

 

“Um, so, classes are all right,” he said. “Warrens is trying to convince me to, um, drop International Relations and take Feminist Theory with her but I think she just needs a gay. Er, guy.”

 

“Um, right,” Tendo said. “Well, don’t let her pressure you into it if you don’t want to?” He took a bite of his own brownie, much smaller than Raleigh had. “Too bad your tan is already starting to fade. Massachusetts sunlight,” he said, shaking his head.

 

“I guess,” Raleigh said, looking at his arm. “I’m not too...I mean, whatever.” He shrugged. What did he need a tan for?

Yancy raised an eyebrow at Tendo - _you know how kid is obsessed with his fucking tan,_ it said. Also, _HELP._

 

Tendo shrugged back, helpless. What was he supposed to do? There was only one person alive who could fix this, and he was two hours away, fucking every available girl in Boston.

Pot, Tendo thought. Literally the only way he could help. “Yeah, so - how’s swimming?”

 

“We’re starting up next week,” Raleigh said. “A lot of good freshman. I was, uh, supposed to mentor one but then Coach said it was OK…” he furrowed his brow. “I thought I did all right last year.”

 

 _Oh God_ , Tendo’s eyebrow twitch said to Yancy. _You did not warn me enough_. “I guess they have enough mentors, want you to focus on your training. You’re anchoring this year, right? Medley or something?”

 

“Well, middle leg,” Raleigh said. “I might be in the freestyle relay, depends on whether anyone else can pick up the slack on fly. I don’t really want to swim that again.” He took another large chunk of brownie down. “That was the kid I was supposed to mentor, but-”

“Oh, fuck it,” said Yancy. “He doesn’t want you to mentor because you are the equivalent of fucking Eeyore at this point, Raleigh.”

 

“I like it.” Tendo said. “Very tactful.” He kicked Yancy, because even he wasn’t that blunt, and that was saying something.

Then he looked at Raleigh, sympathy in his soft voice. “You do seem kinda bummed out, man.”

 

Raleigh looked at both of them and sighed. He hadn’t been talking about it because he figured he would just get annoyed eye-rolls and I told you so’s, but they seemed to actually be concerned, so. “Well, yeah,” he said. “I thought I was...I thought I kind of had it under control, you know, I was prepared, but…” He sighed.

 

“I mean, how can you really… It’s not like you can just turn it off, right? I mean…” Tendo fumbled for words. Yancy fucking owed him for this. Emotional breakdowns weren’t really his forte.

 

“Well…” Raleigh said. Chuck had, hadn’t he? Chuck was probably fucking - no, rooting - just about every other attractive person that stepped in his path. “I should be able to, right? I knew it was going to happen. I feel stupid.”

 

“C’mon, Rals, you’re the sensitive one here, and I mean that as a good thing,” Tendo said. “If I were in love, and we split up, would you tell me to just get over it? Doesn’t really matter how far away you see it coming, it still hurts like a bitch.”

 

“Yeah,” Raleigh said, and he relaxed slightly. Things were starting to swim a little bit, and he was thankful for it. “But...I wasn’t in love.”

 

Tendo opened his mouth and then shut it. Did it again. “Yancy,” he said, finally. “You are his brother and his favorite person in the world. It is your brotherly duty to respond to that one.”

 

“You were, by all, uh, observations,” Yancy said, “you know, all observations by all observers, in love with him. You fell pretty hard and fast for that little sh-koala, and…” He looked at Tendo, hoping that was sufficient. “You, um, punched Tendo, remember?”

“Oh,” Raleigh said. Then, “Fuck. Yeah.”

 

Tendo distinctly remembered saying something about that after Raleigh had apologized for punching him, but apparently it had gone _whoosh_ over his head. “And, speaking from my own experience, it doesn’t hurt that bad unless it’s love.” He poked Raleigh’s chest. “You know, _that_ bad, all the time, right there.”

 

Raleigh looked at his chest and nodded. “I know,” he said. “But how dumb is that? I get all...get all invested, and he just...s’not like he felt the same way,” he said. “Guarantee he’s not moping around Boston right now.” He flopped sideways on the couch, feeling pathetic.

 

Tendo shrugged. “Hey man, you don’t know. People’ve got different coping mechanism. Wouldn’t be surprised if he’s swimming in empty bottles right now, way I’ve seen him drink. Or fucking, even. It’s all just different forms of escapism.”

That, and any idiot would be able to tell that Chuck wasn’t as casual about their relationship as he’d like to pretend.

 

“Rals,” Yancy said. “It was also pretty clear that, uh, Chuck seemed to really like you - which, actually, just makes him more a fucking tool, because he decided some decision he made about going to college without a relationship was more important than the way he actually fucking felt. That is serious emotional constipation.” He shoved the rest of his brownie into his mouth and drank some milk.

 

Brave man, Becket, Tendo thought, moving away in case Raleigh decided to punch Yancy for insulting Chuck. “He definitely felt, uh, really strongly about you,” Tendo said, nodding his agreement with at least that part of what Yancy said. “It’s not exactly hard to see that.”

 

“Strongly about my abs and my dick,” Raleigh said. He lifted his shirt up and poked at his stomach. “I should probably eat food.”

“Yes, good start,” Yancy said, shaking his head.

 

Tendo sighed. He wasn’t sure if informing Raleigh of the myriad ways it was obvious Chuck was head over fucking heels for him was a good idea, but he didn’t seem to be getting over Chuck the normal way, either.

“Dude,” he said. “He went on a romantic date with you. He called you sweetheart and love. He couldn’t keep his hands off you in public. And you saw how freaked out he was that Yance didn’t like him, right? You think that’s just - sex?”

 

Raleigh turned towards Tendo and considered this. “I thought the sweetheart and love was just, you know. Like calling someone baby, or...Can I get you a drink, babe?” He illustrated, and waved his hand. “But you have a point...if that’s true, though, that is really fucking stupid. Why do you have to go to college unattached?”

 

Nice route, or mean route, Tendo wondered? Point out that Chuck was a perfectionist who didn’t do things halfway? Or was Raleigh at the point in his break-up where he was ready to start shit-talking Chuck? Well, maybe it didn’t matter about Raleigh, because Tendo definitely was. Chuck was such an asshole, pulling this bullshit on Raleigh.

“Because he’s a fucking tool,” Tendo said. “Like - seriously, just the biggest asshole.”

 

Raleigh considered this. “Just for this,” he said. “Not overall.” He nodded his head, but he was beginning to feel angry - if Chuck had really felt that way for him, then why would he let some decision he made before he even met Raleigh...it just made no sense. But that was Chuck, he supposed. Rigid and a perfectionist. “Uh. He is a fucking tool.”

Yancy smiled slightly at Tendo and nodded his head. This was progress. He could do anger. Raleigh would probably take it out like he usually did, lifting weights and swimming. He gave Tendo a thumbs up.

“Wait - does this make me a fucking tool too?” Raleigh asked.

 

“I, uh,” Tendo blinked. “You’re gonna have to explain the logic of that one.” Raleigh had not been the one to lead Chuck on. Raleigh hadn’t been sweet and devoted to Chuck with the full intention of breaking his heart at the end of the summer.

 

“Well, I mean…” Raleigh said. “I fell for it even though I told myself not to and knew what was going to happen, like the reverse of Chuck, and so...wait, this doesn’t make any sense.” He pouted. “I ate all my brownie.”

“Yes you did,” Yancy said, and he pat his head. He looked over at Tendo. “Want to play Call of Duty?”

 

“Yes,” Tendo said. “Not to sound like a five-year-old, but yes times infinity.” Stoned devastated Raleigh was just sad, as it turned out.

 

* * *

 

Chuck was nearing the point of drunk where he couldn’t feel his extremities anymore. While everyone else had been playing drinking games, flirting, dancing, having fun, he’d just been drinking.

He groaned, setting his head in his hands. It hadn’t worked - he was as drunk as he’d ever been, and the happy, giggly part hadn’t hit. He just felt droopy and pathetic, and everything sucked.

His weird roommate’s weird friend (frenemy?) was on the couch explaining something to a girl that involved a lot of hand waving, and Chuck collapsed next to him, head lolling like he couldn’t physically hold it up.

“Yeah, pay attention to me,” he said, jabbing the dude with his elbow.

 

“What?” Newt asked, and he looked at the girl and then at Chuck Hansen, who had collapsed next to him on the couch. He turned and smiled at the girl, who nodded and walked back over to her friend.

Chuck was - Newt really wasn’t sure what Chuck was. Not the typical MIT student, for sure, he was probably close to twice the size of Newt, brazen, aggressive, a dick in a completely different way from everyone else, and, if Hermann was to be believed, something of a stud. Though Newt felt like Hermann was exaggerating the amount of times he’d come back to find the sock tied to the door knob. It had only been a week.

And yet - his desktop background was a particularly adorable and sort of stupid looking bulldog.

 

Chuck watched the girl leave. “I could help, if you need,” he said, leaning forward. “I could fuck anyone here.” He said it matter-of-factly, not like a brag - just an inherent truth of the universe.

Then he shut his eyes and leaned back again. Fuck, the world was already swimming. Not a good sign.

 

“Um, I suppose you could,” Newt said. He tried to figure out if Chuck was drunk enough that he was going to puke on him. “You want some water? Here’s some water.” He handed Chuck the bottle of water he’d taken for himself and then took a long sip from his vodka and tonic.

What the hell was he supposed to do here? “You, uh, have a good first week and a half?”

 

Chuck shrugged listlessly. “S’alright. Professors look good. My roommate’s a right dag, but you know that.” He took the water bottle, but dropped it into his lap without drinking any.

 

“I am not really sure what a dag is,” Newt said. “But, uh, yeah, Hermann’s a little uptight.” Hermann was currently back in his room, working on mathematics proof due in four days, despite Newt’s best efforts to get him to come out. “He’s all right, though..?”

Chuck was basically Hermann’s nightmare for a roommate - loud, jockish, constantly having sex, messy, loud.

 

“Yeah nah, it’s not an insult,” Chuck said, flapping a hand in the air. “Like bastard, or septic, or whatever. He’s kind of a nerd, is all.” Which no one could deny, ever. Hermann was like… archetypal nerd.

 

“We’re all nerds,” Newt said. “This is MIT.” He thought it was sort of accepted. Even Chuck was a nerd, though maybe architecture was a little better than biochemistry or math or physics.

 

“We’re not all nerds like Hermo’s a nerd,” Chuck said. He made a face. “Herm? Hezza? I need to work on that.”

 

“I think he just likes Hermann,” Newt said. Not that Hermann would do anything if Chuck came up with a nickname for him besides bitch about it behind his back. Chuck frowned at this, and Newt realized that he was- “Um, you all right, dude? Not like, in the drinking sense, just the overall sense?”

 

Chuck was slightly irritated by how many people had asked him that over the past week. Was he walking around with a sign on his back that said ‘Please, assume you know anything about me, that’s my favorite thing’?

“I’m bonzer,” he said, quiet. He took a long drink from the water bottle. “Fucking great.” He looked down at his hands.

 

“Yeah, don’t think so,” Newt said, because what did he have to lose. It wasn’t like he and Chuck were friends, or anything. Like someone like Chuck would be friends with him.

Newt rolled his sleeves up. “Just, you seem…” He waved his hand a bit. “Not fucking great, that’s all.”

 

“What would you know,” Chuck said, scowling at him. “I’m living the goddamn dream, mate.” His fingers tightened around the water bottle, crunching it a little in his hands.

 

“Yeah?” Newt said. “And what’s that?”

 

“Best - well, second-best tech school in the country, finally got out of Australia, living in a city - a _real_ city, it’s not a fake city…” Chuck threw a dirty look out the window, hoping that Mako would sense it all the way in Philadelphia. “Scoring pussy whenever I walk out the door.”

 

“Um,” Newt said, wondering where Chuck was looking. “Yes, pussy. That’s great - I actually, uh, met Hermann in the common room, while you were…” He waved his hand.

 

Chuck raised an eyebrow. It took a moment for Newt’s meaning to sink in, and he might have felt bad, but… Fuck, he just felt too gross to feel guilty. “Which night?” he asked.

 

“Uh, Monday? Possibly Tuesday? I just heard him cursing you in German, and I speak German, so…” Newt looked at Chuck. “It was a brunette, I think. According to Hermann.”

 

Chuck shrugged. He’d been too drunk on Monday to remember who he brought home, just vague recollections of receiving a sloppy blowjob, and getting her off with his fingers against the door. He was a terrible roommate, he reflected.

“I vaguely recall that,” he said. “Did he define if it was a bloke or a chick?”

 

“Bloke?” Newt asked - this was interesting. “So, you, uh...blokes and chicks, huh?” Poor, poor Hermann he thought. Though some of his comments made more sense, now.

 

Chuck pinned him with a frosty glare. No one in Australia had cared much about him being bisexual, but certain looks he’d gotten from Yancy - and even Raleigh, which, fuck him - gave him the idea they were a little more uptight in America.

“Is that gonna be a problem?” he asked, folding his arms over his chest, biceps bulging.

 

“No, just, well, unexpected,” Newt said. “Which, yes, very stereotypical of me and all, so I apologize for that. I, uh…” He shrugged his shoulders. He was still working on that sort of thing. Would help if he could find someone to experiment with. “Totally cool, man. Wish I could be scoring like you are.”

 

Chuck pursed his lips, scrutinizing him. “You’re good-looking enough. Maybe try talking lower, less like a chipmunk on speed.” Newt wasn’t exactly his type, but he was cute enough.

 

“Yeah, loads of people say that, uh...just seems to be how I’m wired, though.” He shrugged his shoulders. “You, uh, any of those blokes or chicks stand out? Like any of them?” This was more fact-finding for Hermann. Loads of people were having lots of sex right now, but it would die down once school started to pick up. Unless they were in couples.

 

Chuck shrugged. “Not so much. One of the guys had really good abs. I think the other one had blond hair. Nice smile.” He smiled like he couldn’t help himself, and bit his lip. “One of the girls was a swimmer. She was… bendy.”

 

“Oh, yeah, swimmers,” Newt said, fondly. “My girlfriend in high school was on the swim team. Great body. Very bendy. Good stamina. Nice abs.” Newt shook his head. “She was something else. I say, go for the swimmer. They’re usually pretty awesome.”

 

“Yeah,” Chuck agreed. He picked at the label of the water bottle. “Great lung capacity, so great blowjobs. Fucking - biceps, and abs, and… Hair’s all bleached from the chlorine, and - walking around in boardies all the time, with those deltoids.” He leaned his head back, throwing his arm over his eyes. “And an eight inch dick.”

 

Newt thought about this for a second. “I thought it was a girl,” he said. “She had an eight inch dick? That’s sort of...hopefully that wasn’t a surprise for you.”

 

“Yeah nah,” Chuck said, then amended, “Well, it was, but in a good way. You could see the outline when his shorts were wet, but still, eight inches? I mean, how was I supposed to know…?” He shifted in his seat. Fuck, just thinking about Raleigh…

 

OK, clearly talking about two different people here. “Right,” Newt said. “Still, that must have been...I mean, was that good? I’d like to think, at least, you know...giant cocks, overrated..?” He waved his hand. Chuck seemed kind of upset, and, while Newt was necessarily his friend or anything, maybe it would help for him to talk.

 

Chuck thought seriously about this. “I think for most people - yeah, it would be just uncomfortable. But he was really…” He rubbed his neck with his free hand, other arm still over his eyes. “He made it really good. He was always… He always made sure… He wanted to be good for me.” His voice cracked.

Oh fuck, Chuck thought. _I am about to start crying. This is literally the worst thing that has ever happened to me._

 

“Hey, there,” Newt said. Should he touch him? He wasn’t sure, but Chuck looked like he was sort of going to cry, and that was no good. He pat his thigh and then withdrew his hand. “I’m sorry,” he said. “It didn’t work out, then?”

 

Chuck mastered himself before speaking, managing to bite back his tears, though his eyes were noticeably wetter than normal. “I, uh, dumped him. Before coming here. Fuck me, why am I telling you this?” He rubbed his temples.

 

“We’re just talking,” Newt said. “I’m not gonna tell anyone else. Sometimes it feels good to talk about things? So, uh…” He wasn’t sure what to say. If Chuck felt that way, then why dump him? “So what happened - is he, like, far away, or..?”

 

“Uh. Amherst?” Chuck said, wincing. “I didn’t want to be… distracted, here. Like - when you’re in a relationship, you always have to be thinking about the other person, and devoting time to Skyping and shit, and - I just didn’t want to have that weight on my shoulders. Wanted to do uni without feeling tied down.” That sounded dumb when he said it out loud.

It had made so much sense at the time, though.

 

“Right,” said Newt. “I guess...look, I know we’re just talking for the first time, but, uh...aren’t you kind of distracted, thinking about it and then, um, you know, blokes and chicks? I mean, we’ve all got fucking distractions.” He tried to wrap his head around it - Chuck really liked this guy, but he had dumped him because he didn’t want to be tied down in college?

 

Chuck scowled. “Obviously, I didn’t realize it would suck this bad.” He worked his jaw. “It was just a summer thing, it wasn’t supposed to - Whatever. It’s only been a week. I’ll figure it out, and then…” He just needed time to get over Raleigh. In a month, he’d be back to normal.

 

“Sure,” Newt said, though he wasn’t so sure. “Well, look, you ever want to talk about it - like I said, I don’t have anyone to tell, so.” He shrugged his shoulders and kind of felt bad for Chuck, even if he didn’t quite understand his reasoning. “Or not. I’m not thinking we’re gonna be best friends, or whatever, just, you know…”

 

“Yeah,” Chuck said, pushing himself unsteadily to his feet. “I’ll keep that in mind. Now ‘m gonna go hit on that chick.” He caught the eye of a girl across the room, and they smiled at each other.

 

* * *

 

Raleigh wrapped his towel around himself - rough practice, but it felt good to just fucking go for it and burn some lactic acid off. He walked towards the locker room, picking up his kit, and sighed. He wished he had homework to do tonight, or something.

 

Trevin and Bruce traded glances behind his back and then approached him from both sides. They’d waited for everyone else to clear out, because they didn’t want to air this out in front of the peanut gallery, but -

Christ, as joint team captains, it was kind of their obligation to deal with this. And no one liked to see Raleigh like this, all sad puppy, practically drooping.

“Rals,” Bruce said.

“Raleigh,” Trevin said.

“You know we -”

“Think you’re fantastic -”

“And you’re still swimming -”

“Like a fucking dolphin -”

“Shark,” Bruce corrected.

“But is something going on -”

“That we should know about?”

They leaned up against the lockers on either side of him, arms crossed.

 

“Um, like what?” Raleigh asked, looking between the twins, attempting to discern which was which. He didn’t know why they were asking - he’d already shaved time, just in practice, and he was probably going to take a significant chunk out of his I.M. time because of his improved...flexibility. “What do you want to know about?”

 

Bruce looked at Trevin.

“He’s gonna make us say it,” Trevin said.

“You seem…”

Trevin searched for the word. Sad, yes, but also… “Less.”

 

“Less?” Raleigh asked, confused. He looked down at himself. He’d lost a little weight, but nothing serious. He looked back up at them. “I mean, I guess I’ve been a little…” He scratched his head. “Distracted? By some...stuff?”

 

“Yes,” Trevin said. “That kind of thing.”

“And we wanted to know -”

“As friends, but also as your captains -”

Bruce set his hand on Raleigh’s shoulder, meeting his eye dead-on. “Are you alright?”

 

Shit. They always did this. Serious eyes, and you knew they really cared, and they were also in your physical space - and there were two of them! - so you couldn’t really… “Probably, uh, no. I’m gonna go with no.”

 

Trevin grimaced. First step was admitting you had a problem, though, right?

“Are you _going_ to be alright?” Bruce asked.

“Is there anything we can do…?”

 

“Uh, no, not really,” Raleigh said, and he sat down on the bench in the locker room. “I just...I met someone over the summer, at camp?” He looked down at his hands.

 

They sat down, Bruce next to him and Trevin across, not wanting to box him in. “Oh, that’s…”

“Yeah,” Bruce said, with a sympathetic wince. “Camp. Summer, and then…”

 

“Well, it was going really well? We both really…” Raleigh swallowed. He’d gone over things, and yeah, Yancy and Tendo were right. “We really liked each other, and it was pretty...but he sort of made it clear, at the beginning, that he wanted to go off to college without any, uh, distractions? But I still…” He waved his hand. “And then he broke it off. Like he said.”

 

“Freshman,” Trevin said to Bruce.

“Doesn’t really get what college is, if he thinks -”

“That there’s some ultimate experience -“

“That distractions are going to -” Bruce searched his mind for the right word.

“Detract from,” Trevin filled in.

Bruce nodded. “I bet he’s rethinking it now,” he said, and then frowned. “Not that saying that will make you feel better.”

“Still sucks balls,” Trevin said.

 

“Yeah,” Raleigh said. “It’s so stupid! Like...if he liked me, then why go through with his plan? But he had to. Because he’s a tool…” He was going with this line of rhetoric. “So I’m just kind of…” He wasn’t sure what to say. “Should be over it, I guess. Knew it was coming.”

 

Bruce frowned. “Hey man, don’t do that.”

“Be mad at him if it makes you feel better,”

“Although I doubt it really does, deep down -”

Trevin nodded. “But don’t blame yourself for caring. That’s bullshit.”

 

“Oh,” Raleigh said. He hadn’t considered this. “He was really…” He wasn’t sure how to describe Chuck. He _was_ a douchebag, but a lovable one? “He was really great. For once, you know?”

 

“Yeah,” Trevin said.

Bruce just bumped his shoulder up against Raleigh’s in quiet sympathy. Not a lot to say to that.

 

“Anyway,” Raleigh said. “That’s what is going on. I’m just...I wish things could have gone differently, and they didn’t. I’ve been kind of a mope, though...Yancy said I was Eeyore.”

 

“That’s not a bad comparison,” Bruce admitted. “You’ve been very…”

“Raincloudy,” Trevin said.

Bruce bumped his fist against Raleigh’s shoulder. “It’ll get better. You’ll forget to think about him all the time, and eventually, you won’t think about him at all.”

 

“Yeah,” Raleigh said, though he wasn’t so sure. “I know. It was just like two weeks ago, though, so. Um, thanks for talking?” It was easier to talk to them than Yancy, for some reason - they didn’t know Chuck, they could just be supportive of him.

 

“Anytime,” Trevin said, standing.

Bruce stood up also. “But keep up the effort.”

“Yeah, you’ve been great.”

“If things don’t get better, at least there’s the fact that -”

“You’ll probably place in nationals, times like that.”

Venting his emotions and heartbreak into the simple act of swimming, Bruce thought, but didn’t say.

 

“Yeah, I guess there’s that, right?” Raleigh said. “I mean, I put in a lot of work this off season, too, but…” He nodded his head. He was definitely channeling his feelings into his swimming.

 

 

* * *

 

Mako fiddled with her laptop, glad that Chuck had agreed to talk with her for a bit. She hadn’t spoke to him since he had arrived at college and was hoping he would do well. She pressed the button and smiled as he answered and his familiar grumpy face filled the screen. “Hello, Chuck,” she said. “How are you?”

 

Chuck yawned, covering his mouth with his hand. “Good,” he said, shrugging. “Classes are good. Roommate’s a bit uptight, but he’s alright.” He tugged at the rim of his knit cap, making sure it fully covered his hair. He hadn’t showered in four days, so the hat was kind of a necessity. And Mako was the type who would totally call him out on it.

 

“Chuck,” she said. “Are you wearing a hat because you have not showered in some time?” He did not look good, either. Deep circles under his eyes. Sallow skin. He had probably been drinking quite a bit, if she knew Chuck.

 

God dammit. “If I say no, will you believe me?” He leaned back, scowling. “I’ve been… busy.”

 

“Yes, I imagine so,” Mako said. “There is so much that goes on your first few weeks. Classes...parties...meeting people…”

 

“Yeah, that’s about it,” Chuck said. “And footy practice on top of it. Haven’t been getting as much sleep as I should.” For multiple reasons, he thought, and looked down.

 

Mako debated - it appeared to be time for tough love, though. “Because you have been bringing people to bed with you?”

 

Chuck’s scowl deepened. “What’s your point?” He got enough of this from his weird roommate’s weird friend, he didn’t need shit from her.

 

“I am just concerned, Chuck, you do not look well,” she said. “And I remember...it is easy to overdo things, when you first arrive at college.” She shook her head. She had not been herself, her first month.

 

Chuck sat back, crossing his arms. “I can manage,” he said. “I’m not letting anything distract from my work or practice. Just - you know.” He didn’t know what he meant by that. “Haven’t felt much like being…” _Alone_.

 

Oh dear, Mako thought, and tried to think about how to approach this. It was worse than she thought. “It is good to have some time to yourself, though,” she said. “Just to relax and recharge.”

 

“I’m fine, Mori,” he snapped. Then swept his hands over his face. Fuck. Just proving her point, wasn’t he?

He stood up and walked out of view, returning with a water bottle a minute later. “Sorry,” he muttered. “I can take care of myself, though.”

 

Mako sighed - evidence suggested the contrary. “Yes, I know,” she said. “I am only speaking from experience, that is all. I was a mess my first month of college, so…and I am your friend, Chuck. It is natural for me to feel concerned because I care for you.”

 

He took a long drink to avoid having to answer. Then he nodded. “I know. It’s just, you’re like the sixth person this week to tell me that.” Newt shot him increasingly worried looks every time he saw him.

 _Oh yeah, Chuck, that’ll make her feel better_ , he thought.

 

“Have you considered then that perhaps you, uh, may actually not be doing well?” Mako asked. “Six people is a fairly good representative sample.”

 

Chuck rubbed his jaw. “Yeah,” he said, though it was grudging. Then he sighed and - deflated, as if all the air had been sucked out of him. “But like… I’m already pulled tight enough without - wouldn’t it be worse, having…?”

 

Mako blinked - this was a quick transition. She had thought Chuck would not bring it up. “Worse having what?” she asked, in her best confused voice.

 

He glared, as if questioning the sincerity of her confusion. But he didn’t call her out on it, just said, “Long distance relationships take time. I don’t have time. Isn’t this just confirmation that I made the right call?”

 

“They do,” she said. “But the time you are spending with these hook-ups could just as easily be spent on a relationship.”

 

Fair enough. Chuck chewed on his lower lip. “It already sucks not seeing him. Won’t it be worse if…”

No, he realized. At least that way he would have weekends, vacations to look forward to. This way, he was just -

Fuck. He covered his face with his hands, taking in deep, unsteady breaths.

 

“Chuck, if you feel this way…” Mako sighed, not sure what to say. She wished she was there in person so she could hit Chuck in the face. “If you keep thinking about him...how would it be worse for it to be positive thoughts?”

 

He had a response to that, really. He would get over Raleigh, eventually. In a month, it would be better, and in two months, who knows? Whereas getting into a committed long-distance relationship - that wouldn’t fade. The distraction would be permanent.

But this fucking _sucked_. And the mere act of closing his eyes and imagining Raleigh’s face their last time together, Raleigh’s expression when Chuck had fucked him that time after their date…

He’d tried this way. Maybe it was time to try out the other option.

He opened his eyes. “Mako,” he said. “Does he even want me anymore? I mean, I dumped him, I can’t expect…”

 

Mako’s eyes widened, because she had not considered that Chuck would deviate from his plan. He had it bad, she realized. She swallowed. “I cannot speak for Raleigh,” she said. “But...he really liked you, Chuck, and I know that he misses you very much. If you were to approach this delicately, apologize…”

 

Chuck scowled. He didn’t see what he had to apologize for - he hadn’t intentionally hurt Raleigh, and he’d been honest, and he’d been doing what he thought was best. Was that so wrong?

But, well, if Raleigh was hurting… He’d see.

“Yeah,” he said. “I need to think about this. Don’t tell him anything, alright? I still haven’t decided either way.”

 

“I will not,” she said. “And by apologize, I just mean - say that you thought what you were doing was best. That you were honest with him. But you made a mistake, because you miss him. Does that make sense?” She knew this was a delicate thing. Apologize was not a word Chuck really dealt well with.

 

Chuck shrugged, shoulders stiff. “I guess.” It was all true, so there wasn’t much he could argue with. Still rankled, though. “We’ll talk later, yeah?”

 

“Absolutely,” Mako said. “I unfortunately already have a paper to write.” She smiled as she clicked the chat off, but then ran her fingers through her hair. She thought talking with the two of them, both miserable like this, was difficult. But if Chuck tried to mend things…

Also, Yancy was going to punch him in the balls.


	13. Chapter 13

Chuck felt pretty dumb, just wandering around Amherst’s campus. He didn’t have anyone’s phone number, and he wasn’t sure he wanted them. The point was to surprise Raleigh, and he didn’t think Tendo or Yancy would be too keen on helping him out.

So his grand plan was to wander around aimlessly until he spotted one of them (preferably Raleigh, or Tendo if need be - not Yancy if at all possible), and the first part of it was working magnificently.

Then he turned a corner and caught sight of Yancy. Eyes widening, he hurriedly turned around and started walking the other direction. But he was pretty sure Yancy had seen him, which, _fuck_.

 

Yancy stared - it certainly looked like, but it couldn’t be...no, how many grumpy, freckled gingers were there? _Fuck my life,_ he thought, and broke into a fairly quick jog until he caught up with Chuck. Who looked fucking terrified.

“Hey, Chuck,” he said, because there was hopefully only one reason he was wandering around like this, which was he had got his head out of his own ass. “Thinking about transferring?”

 

Chuck allowed himself a moment to close his eyes and wallow in self-pity before looking at Yancy. “Not unless your tiny school gets a real architecture department,” he said.

 

“Right, well,” Yancy said, because Chuck sort of looked pathetic. “I’m assuming you’re here to see Rals, then, if that’s not the reason for your visit?” He kept his voice low and measured, like how you talked to a wounded animal.

 

“Might be,” Chuck said, trying not to scowl at him too much. But fuck, what was with that tone? Chuck had showered and everything, he didn’t look as much like a homeless person anymore.

Still, probably pissing off Yancy wasn’t the right way to go about this. Pissing him off even more, Chuck assumed. He rubbed the back of his neck. “If that’s…”

 

“Yeah, of course,” Yancy said. “I should probably say something vaguely threatening, but…” He shook his head. “C’mon, he’s probably at our apartment, since practice is over. Hope you don’t mind the smell of chlorine.”

 

Chuck shook his head and followed him. He didn’t want to overanalyze Yancy’s words, but they sounded promising - like Yancy was pretty positive there would be something to threaten Chuck about, or whatever.

 

He didn’t say anything as he walked Chuck back over to the apartment. He debated texting Raleigh, but he couldn’t do that subtly. It only took four or five minutes, though, and he opened the door, relieved to see it was unlocked. That meant Raleigh was home.

“That is such bullshit-”

“You can’t just try and argue-”

“Look, I just think it would make our argument stronger if we included another viewpoint, which is - oh, hey, Yancy.”

“Yancy,” both Gages said in unison. Creepy fuckers.

“Look what I found wandering around,” Yancy said, stepping inside, as Chuck sort of slumped in behind him.

 

Chuck took a deep breath, feeling a little like he was going to faint. This was so humiliating. “Hey,” he said, looking up and biting his lip - and feeling a little vindictively pleased that Raleigh looked as subdued as he did, even if he didn’t have quite as dark bags under his eyes as Chuck did.

Trevin and Bruce traded looks, then looked at Raleigh, then to Chuck. They raised their eyebrows.

 

“Chuck?” Raleigh said, and he blinked. “Wow. You’re, uh. You’re here.” He looked at Yancy, who shrugged his shoulders, and then at Trevin and Bruce, who both had that blank but still considerate look on their face.

“You two want to get coffee, food, drugs, anything?” Yancy asked the twins, nodding out the door. Fuck, this was what he was going to be most pissed about, if he actually had to spend time with those two.

 

“Coffee,” they said together, “and muffins,” just because it was fun.

Chuck watched them leave and then turned to Raleigh. “That was weird,” he said.

 

“Oh, they’re…” Raleigh thought about it. “Yeah, they’re weird. Yancy says they, uh, haunt his nightmares. They’re on the swim team with me. You want something to drink, or food, or…”

 

Chuck sort of smirked. Was Raleigh’s mind functioning on autopilot? _There is guest. Offer food_. Or maybe he just had no idea how to respond to Chuck’s presence there, which made sense.

“I’m fine,” he said, drawing closer. “Is, uh, this a good time?”

 

“Oh, yeah.” Raleigh waved at the books and laptop open on the dining room table. “We were working on a project for Monster class but it’s not due for awhile, so…” He nodded his head.

Chuck looked...not great, really, but still really great, if that made sense. The last few weeks had not been kind to him. But he was still...Raleigh sighed and went and sat down on the couch.

 

Chuck sat at the other end of the couch. He hunched over, elbows on his knees. Somehow, with all his planning - bribing Newt to drive him, even - he’d never considered how to start this conversation.

“How’ve you been?” he said, weakly.

 

“Well…” Raleigh said. “Could be...better? But I’m shaving seconds off my swimming times, so…” He gave Chuck a small smile - he had to be here for a good reason. Otherwise why make the effort? “Uh, you?”

 

“It’s kind of fucking sucked,” Chuck said, emboldened by that smile. “And I want it to stop fucking sucking, because I’ve been psyched about this for a long time, so - figured something’s gotta change, you know?”

 

“Psyched about college?” Raleigh asked, a little confused.

 

Chuck nodded. “I wanted uni to be good. Better than high school, at least. And, uh, it hasn’t been, so far.” He chewed on his thumbnail.

 

“Oh,” Raleigh said. “I’m sorry. So you came here to...make college better? At MIT?” He felt really stupid, but Chuck was not helping him here.

 

Chuck sighed. He had forgotten, somehow, how oblivious Raleigh could be. “I came here because I’m so fucked up over you that I can’t enjoy myself. At MIT, yes.”

 

“Fucked up over me?” Raleigh asked, but he felt himself smile slightly, even though he knew he shouldn’t - he shouldn’t just let this happen, because Chuck had been a fucking tool. Still. “I, um, me too. Yancy called me Eeyore and it sort of...stuck.” He nodded towards his door, where Tendo had printed out and colored an Eeyore picture in crayon for him and taped it up there one night.

 

Chuck looked over his shoulder at it and then laughed. “Mako and Newt have been beating me up over it, but I haven’t been compared to any cartoon donkeys, or whatever he is.” He ran his hand through his hair, which wasn’t greasy, for once. “Raleigh, you gotta gimme something to work with here. Are you… Do I have a shot, or…?”

 

“Yes,” Raleigh said, almost a whisper. Then he looked down at his hands and dammit, he was going to cry. He swallowed hard and blinked, deciding it was inevitable and there was really nothing he could do. “I’ve really missed you.”

 

Chuck turned, crawling across the couch to him. He reached out, tentative, and curled his hand around Raleigh’s neck. “I’ve been so fucked up over you,” he said again, matching Raleigh’s tone. He really wanted to kiss Raleigh, but… He felt he shouldn’t just assume anything.

 

“OK,” Raleigh said. “But you were such a fucking tool, Chuck.” His voice was a little clearer when he said it, but he smiled slightly, because he couldn’t not. He looked at Chuck and shook his head. Like admonishing a kid.

 

Chuck’s expression darkened, a little, and he drew back. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I thought it was better for - I mean, Jesus, I never lied. What’s so bad about being wary of long-distance relationships?”

 

“Nothing,” Raleigh said. “It’s just - if you felt that way about me, and knew I felt that way about you. My brain just doesn’t work that way, Chuck. I mean, you stuck with your plan even though…” He shook his head. “It just made me angry. But I didn’t know you were, really, I didn’t really know you were so upset too.”

 

Chuck worked his jaw. “I didn’t really know either, until I was there and I couldn’t even focus on lectures because I kept thinking about…” He sat back. “I’ve dated a few people before, and dumping them has never felt like that. I didn’t know how much it would suck.”

That just made him sound like a child. He looked away.

 

“Oh, Chuck,” Raleigh said, and that was it. Yancy was going to yell at him later and he didn’t care. He leaned over and put a hand to his cheek, stared at him for a long moment, asking for permission to kiss him. He hoped.

 

Chuck nodded, licking his lips. He knew he looked eager, but fuck it, he didn’t care.

 

Raleigh grazed his lips to start, gentle, and fuck, it was just like he remembered. He wrapped an arm around Chuck’s back and pulled him closer, kissed harder, opened his mouth slightly and let his tongue enter. He could barely breathe.

 

Chuck melted into it, weaving his fingers through Raleigh’s hair. Fuck, he’d missed that hair. Missed those lips, and - He moved his other hand down Raleigh’s back to his ass, squeezing it. Yeah, he’d missed that ass.

He broke away, breathing heavily, and pressed his forehead against Raleigh’s. “You don’t have plans today, right? Because I have to go back to MIT tomorrow early, and…”

 

“No, I’m…” Raleigh shook his head. It was early in the semester. “And, uh, I can always drive you back on Sunday, if you want to stay longer..?”

 

Chuck grinned, and it actually met his eyes for the first time in quite a while. “Really? Because I had to bribe this bloke to drive me, so that’d be great. It might be hard for me to visit you until I get a driver’s license.”

 

“That’s...I’ve got a car,” Raleigh said. “We don’t really use it, like, on weekends...and Yancy can always have Tendo take him for groceries or whatever, so.” He grinned and ran his hand through Chuck’s hair, surprisingly soft. “Um, I have to ask something, though, because…” He waved his hand, awkward. “Have you, uh, been with anyone…?” He winced.

 

Chuck didn’t understand the question for a moment. Then he pulled away, smile dimming. “Uh… Yeah, I have. Why?”

 

“OK,” Raleigh said. He’d expected as much, and...well. There was nothing that could be done about it. “I’ll just have to, uh, raid Yancy’s room for some things.” He smiled at Chuck to show him he didn’t care, because really, he didn’t. Except for that one concern.

 

Chuck bit his lip. “I brought some, also.” He wasn’t about to lie, after all, and he hadn’t been tested recently enough.

 

“OK, then that’s good,” Raleigh said, and he leaned in and kissed Chuck again, a little deeper, with a lot more longing. “Fuck, I really missed you.”

 

Chuck made a quiet, desperate noise into the kiss. He leaned back, dragging Raleigh with him so Raleigh was spread out over him on the couch, pressing him into it with his whole weight. So good, so perfect, everything he’d been missing…

But then he remembered where he’d been going with that line of thought, and turned his head to break the kiss. “No, but, uh, I have a roommate, so - Really, it’ll be better if I visit you.” He smiled and slid his hands up Raleigh’s shirt, resting them over his hips. “He’s gonna like you a lot, though.” After all, now that he was established in a relationship, Chuck wouldn’t be sexiling him anymore, which Hermann would adore Raleigh for. Except on weekends, if that’s how it ended up going.

 

Raleigh sighed at Chuck’s touch on his hips, because...fuck. He had really needed this.

Raleigh put some more of his weight on Chuck so that their groins, their hips were, their cocks were in contact. He circled, pressed down a bit, and sighed. “We can sort all that out,” he said, and kissed Chuck, lightly, “later?”

 

“Shouldn’t we go to your room?” Chuck asked, eyelashes fluttering. “I - not actually an exhibitionist, and your brother…”

 

Raleigh nodded. though Yancy would know well enough to stay away for some time, and it wasn’t like he was by himself - Raleigh laughed, then, because, Christ, Yancy had left with the Gages.

 

Chuck pushed at his chest. “C’mon, I wanna get you inside me, and ‘m not gonna last long.” But contrary to his words, he stretched his neck up and kissed Raleigh hungrily, because he couldn’t help it - he was on withdrawal and now he was finally getting his fix, and it was so good, a high unto itself.

 

“You want…” Raleigh rolled off of Chuck and sort of staggered a bit, a little disorientated - just an hour ago, he’d been upset, working on some project, and now… “You want me in you?” He reached a hand and helped Chuck off the couch.

 

Chuck smirked, biting coyly at his lower lip. “What, like I’d ever let anyone else…? C’mon, sweetheart, I’ve been thinking about your cock for weeks, I want -” He kissed Raleigh again, pushing him in the direction of the room with Eeyore on the door.

 

Raleigh grinned and then bit at his lip - he liked being something exclusive for Chuck, being his only. “Yeah?” he asked, and he grasped at Chuck’s own cock as he opened the door. Then he realized that he’d never had Chuck in his room before, in his own space. Also his room was sort of a mess. Not that it mattered. He sat down on the bed, careful, and tugged at Chuck’s t-shirt to pull him in for another kiss.

 

Chuck let himself be pulled in, climbing over Raleigh to straddle his waist, looping his arms around his neck to kiss back. He felt like a girl in this position, but, c’est la vie.

He pulled away to tug off his shirt, tossing it on the ground (and then worrying a bit that he’d never find it again in the piles of clothes). Then he took Raleigh’s wrists and arranged his hands to cup over Chuck’s ass, pressing into them. “Seriously, Rals. You can make fun of me for being eager all you want, but just fucking get inside me before I explode.”

 

“I know, I know,” Raleigh said, squeezing into Chuck’s muscular ass and digging his fingers in. He worked a hand through his chest hair and sighed. It was so… “But I can’t just...you know that.” He bit his lower lip, a bit concerned. He didn’t want to hurt Chuck. That would put a real damper on things.

He leaned back and pulled his own shirt off and then nuzzled into Chuck’s neck.

 

“Yeah, but, your fingers…” Chuck said, then decided to just move forward himself and started tearing into Raleigh’s clothing, fingers flying over the belt and buttons of his pants. He tugged at them in a silent demand for their removal, even as he trailed his lips down and set about sucking a dark hickey into Raleigh’s skin, a deep purplish-red that stood out brilliantly. He purposefully left it right where the collar of his shirt came to so that it would only show in flashes when the neck of his shirt shifted, because he wasn’t that much of an asshole.

 

“Yeah, mark me,” Raleigh said. “That’s a good spot, Chuck, I…” He pulled back and slid out of his own pants, tossing them into the embarrassing pile of clothes on the floor. He leaned against the wall in just his boxer briefs, letting Chuck take in the image he knew he liked so much before he pulled the underwear off as well. “I’m, uh, usually not this messy,” he said, moving forward to help Chuck out of his own clothes.

 

Chuck tossed an unconcerned glance over his shoulder. “Fuck if I care,” he said. Max always dragged his clothes out of the dresser and made little beds with them, so he was accustomed to mess.

He slid off to strip before climbing back onto Raleigh’s lap, and moved his lips over to suck a symmetrical mark on Raleigh’s other collarbone. Then a bit further up on his shoulder, still somewhere that would be hidden under a t-shirt. “Everyone on the swim team is gonna see these,” he said, tracing over the first with his thumb, fingertips light over the abrasion. “Everyone’s gonna know who you belong to.”

 

“Yeah,” Raleigh said, and he shivered at the thought. “Fuck, I like that a lot,” he murmured, then kissed Chuck’s lips again and tugged him back down onto the bed. “Get comfortable, yeah?” he said, glad their apartment had allowed them to bring in their own furniture - sex on a college single was just fucking awkward. He reached into the small bedside stand and pulled out the lube, then coated his fingers.

 

Chuck looked up and grabbed a pillow, sliding it beneath his ass. He let his legs fall open in an easy spread. “So, uh, why is your room messier than normal?” he asked. After asking, he realized it may have been cruel to harp on it, because he was pretty sure Raleigh had as rough a past few weeks as he had, but -

He was never going to tire of hearing how much he mattered to Raleigh, deep down.

 

“Just haven’t really felt like cleaning,” Raleigh said, voice soft as he sat down between Chuck’s ass, beautiful and round. He traced a lubed finger down his crease to his balls and rolled them gently, then moved back and circled his finger at Chuck’s hole before gently pressing it inwards. “I...I really fucking missed you, you know?”

 

“Nngh, I… I know, believe me, I know,” Chuck said, biting his lip, knees digging into the sheets. He pushed back, wordlessly begging for more. “You think I’d be here if it wasn’t killing me too?” That sounded kind of like an insult, and it wasn’t intended to be, because -

Chuck thought he had his life figured out. And boy, but Raleigh had proved him wrong.

 

Raleigh slid two fingers in and leaned forward so he could kiss at Chuck’s back. “I was...I’m so glad you came, I can’t…” He twisted his fingers and then curled them, seeking Chuck’s prostate and then pulling his fingers out, enjoying the sound, before he plunged them back in. “You’re gorgeous like this.”

 

Chuck had to bury his face in the pillow to keep Raleigh from seeing his blush. Normally he didn’t mind being complimented, but like this, all open and desperate, it felt more meaningful. He gave a drawn-out groan, hips stuttering with every motion of Raleigh’s hand, fingers clenching in the sheets. “Raleigh,” he said, nearly a whisper. “Please.”

 

Raleigh added a third finger, doing his best to work quickly, spreading his fingers and spreading Chuck. “You don’t need to ask,” Raleigh said. And, fuck, the way that he had said Raleigh’s name like that? The groans that he was making? Raleigh thrust in, one more time, not quite sure, but Chuck was so eager, so beautiful spread beneath him. “Roll over, love,” he said, and then swallowed hard at the word - but it was OK now, right?

 

Chuck _moaned_ , rolling over and hitching his hips back up onto the pillow. “Fuck,” he said, grinning at Raleigh, eyes gleaming. “Can’t decide which I like better, you calling me that or saying my name the way you do.” He hooked his ankle around Raleigh’s back to tug him in, needing to feel that indescribable burn.

 

Well, that was definitely something, and Raleigh felt this burst of something in his stomach that radiated and bloomed. He leaned in and kissed Chuck’s lips, then moved and kissed his neck. “Chuck, where are the..?” He said it soft, careful, not wanting to ruin the moment but…

 

“Oh, fuck, right,” Chuck said, tipping his head back. Disappointment welled up inside him - but this was his own choice, and he couldn’t do anything about it now. “Um, back pocket of my shorts.” He gestured at the floor, wherever his shorts had landed.

 

Raleigh nodded, got off the bed, found the shorts, and quickly retrieved the condom and ripped it open. He wished they didn’t have to, but - well, there was no point in dwelling on it. He slid it on and liberally slicked himself up, then got back between Chuck’s legs and leaned over and kissed him on the mouth. “I don’t want to...I’m gonna really slow, OK?” he murmured, and then aligned himself with Chuck’s hole.

 

Chuck nodded, bracing himself for the moment of penetration. He hadn’t quite perfected total relaxation yet, but he managed not to tense up too much, such that Raleigh breaching him was more a burning sensation than tearing. He breathed through it, steady and slow.

“I’m good,” he said, only slightly pained. “Uh, you can move. Fuck, I thought I remembered, but…” Christ, Raleigh’s cock. It was so big it defied logic.

 

Raleigh took all of Chuck in, beneath him, perfect and so muscled, so broad. He braced himself around him and slid out, slowly, and moaned at how fucking tight that Chuck felt, how warm around him, even with the barrier. “You feel so amazing, Chuck, so tight…” He set a slow, deep rhythm, trying to fuck him like Chuck had the night after their dinner. “Am I..? Close to your..?”

 

“Yeah,” Chuck said, breathing through his mouth. It was embarrassing, how much Raleigh was already getting to him. How the feeling of his cock inside him made him feel - no, too cliche. He couldn’t even think the word without feeling like his balls were shriveling up.

“You are so bloody big,” he said, hitching his hips up into the roll of Raleigh’s hips. “Jesus, internal back massage isn’t just skeevy innuendo, with you.” Then he laughed, because, “That’s some terrible dirty talk, huh?”

 

“I like it,” Raleigh said, moving a little faster, a little harder, and he put a hand on Chuck’s chest and thumbed his nipple gently. “It’s, uh...you’ve had some pretty good dirty talk, you know?” He grinned and pulled almost all the way out of Chuck and then slid into him, smooth. “Fuck, you feel so good, Chuck.” Chuck was enveloping him, wrapping him up, and he felt the beginnings of the crest of orgasm.

 

“I, fuck - I try,” Chuck said, grinning breathlessly. He moaned and arched into Raleigh’s hand, nipples stiffening into peaks. His flexibility wasn’t comparable to Raleigh’s, or anything, but he hooked his ankles together behind Raleigh’s lower back and dragged him forward, angling his hips to get the most possible depth - and groaned again, because Christ, Raleigh’s dick, rubbing every nerve ending. He pressed his head back, eyes clenched shut, mouth moving in a soundless curse.

 

“You look so gorgeous,” Raleigh moaned, and the closer contact made for a better fit, made the his orgasm build further and crackle. He was so deep inside Chuck, right in his center. “Feel so good, Chuck, I’m really close, I’m going to…” He was pretty sure Chuck was too, but just wanted to make sure. Wanted this to be right.

 

Maybe it was the fact that he was getting this after so many weeks of thinking he’d never have it again, but Chuck was fairly sure he’d be able to come without being touched, just from the relentless caress of Raleigh’s cockhead over his prostate. He rolled his hips down in a rhythm with Raleigh, pleasure building up under his skin - and then with one deep thrust, it spilled over, and he came between their chests, trembling with it. “You’re so good, love, so bloody good for me,” he whispered, overwhelmed.

 

Raleigh came hard, as soon as Chuck did, especially with the use of that word. “Oh, Chuck,” he said, and slid out of him quickly, wanting to get rid of the one barrier that existed between the two of them. He pulled it off, tied it, launched it vaguely in the direction of his waste basket. Then he slid back over top of Chuck and kissed him on the mouth, peppered him, really, with light kisses. “You were so...fuck, that was so good.”

 

“I didn’t actually do anything, but cheers,” Chuck said, smoothing Raleigh’s hair off his forehead. He wound his arms around Raleigh’s neck and tipped his face up into Raleigh’s kisses, smiling giddily. “I’m not gonna wanna leave Sunday. Can’t I just…”

 

“You can stay as long as you want,” Raleigh said. “But, uh, you know…” He wasn’t going to tell Chuck what to do. “Actually I might not be able to drive you back except for the weekends.” He kissed, lazily, at Chuck’s neck.

 

Chuck laughed, tipping his face up. “Wasn’t serious. I’ve got class on Monday, and practice. Probably shouldn’t be staying here Sunday either, I have a project due Wednesday that I shouldn’t get behind on.” He shrugged. “Fuck if I care.”

 

“Aw, Chuck,” Raleigh said. He kissed his lips lightly before standing up to go and get something to wipe them up with. “I don’t want my cock to be responsible for your grades.” He smiled at him before he ducked out of the bedroom for the bathroom.

 

Chuck sat up when Raleigh left, cross-legged, and dug around on the floor for a pair of Raleigh’s sweats. He pulled them on, tightening the drawstring before leaning back against the headboard. “S’gonna help, probably, since I won’t be going out on weekdays anymore. More time for problem sets.”

 

Raleigh returned and shook his head at Chuck, then gently wiped at his abdomen before he crawled back into bed with him. “You should still go out a little bit,” he said. “No, no, I’m going to stop being an old person and giving you advice on how to college, like, back when I was a freshman…”

 

“Uh, no, I meant…” Chuck said, looking shifty. “There’s only one reason I was going out - well, that, and getting blind drunk.” Raleigh took it well that Chuck slept around in the interim time, but he probably wouldn’t be so easy-going if Chuck kept bringing it up. Maybe he’d work harder at that.

 

“Ah,” Raleigh said, and he curled in next to Chuck. “Well.” He wasn’t sure what to say to it, really - it was Chuck’s coping mechanism, no surprise there, but… he didn’t like the idea of Chuck with someone else. He kissed at his neck, found a soft spot and traced his lips over it. “Mine now.”

 

Chuck smiled. “Yeah,” he said, pressing his thumb into the mark he’d left on Raleigh’s shoulder, and then moving it down to the hickeys on his collarbone. “All, uh… all yours.” First time saying that to anyone. First time for a lot of things. He blushed.

 

“Oh,” Raleigh said, and he liked it. Knew what it meant, too, the way that Chuck blushed at it. “I’m all yours too, Chuck. You know how good I want to be for you.” He couldn’t resist it. He liked the way Chuck visibly shivered when he said it.

 

Fuck. Chuck bit his lip. Would he ever get accustomed to that? Probably not. Probably they could be together for - well, indefinitely, and still, anytime Raleigh said that… goosebumps.

“Stoppit,” he said, shoving at Raleigh’s shoulder. “I’m gonna get hard again, you keep that up.”

 

“Really?” Raleigh said, and he smiled, a little wicked. “Mmm, that would be nice, I’m aching to have you inside me.” He kissed Chuck’s lips lightly and curled alongside of him.

 

“You’re still gonna have to give me some time,” Chuck said, smoothing his hand over Raleigh’s back in a slow caress. “And, uh, feed me. But you might have to do that either way.”

 

“Sure,” Raleigh said. “I know...oh, hey, um? The guy that you, um, had drive you? Is he...does he have someone to stay with, or..?”

 

“Uh,” Chuck said. “No? But I’m gonna comp his hotel room.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t have many options.”

 

“Oh,” Raleigh said. “Well, he can stay here. I have on Tendo’s authority the couch is pretty comfortable. If that’s cool?” He wasn’t sure what relationship Chuck had with this kid. “Yancy can entertain him.”

 

Chuck shrugged. “I mean, if you’re gonna drive me back, he could leave now if he wanted. But I’ll ask him.” He pushed up off the bed, leaning over the edge to grab his shorts and dig his phone out of the pocket. He sent a quick text to Newt before setting his phone on the bedside table and laying back again.

 

“Yes, right, I’m stupid,” Raleigh said. “We can feed him, at least? I, uh, should text Yancy before he tries to swallow his own tongue to get away from Bruce and Trevin.” Raleigh always tried to refer to them by first name rather than the plural. It sort of helped with the...weirdness.

 

“Go for it,” Chuck said, yawning and stretching. “You’ve got a small window to get me up before I fall asleep, just so you know. But I guess I should shower before I go anywhere, anyway.” He did not look enthused at the idea of moving.

 

Raleigh furrowed his brow. “Wait...you don’t have to fall asleep after you..?” He curled into him a little closer and kissed his neck.

 

Chuck laughed, tugging on Raleigh’s hair to tilt his face up to kiss him. “I mean, if I’m in a bed, I’m gonna pass out. But - what, do you just conk out every time you get tired? You can push through it.” He rubbed his belly. “Plus, I’m hungry. That helps.”

 

“OK, what would you like?” Raleigh said. “Because we have, um...cereal? Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and...you know, we should order something.” The fridge was largely full of beer, the freezer full of booze. Ah, college.

 

Chuck laughed again. “You’re such bros,” he said, ignoring the fact that he’d shown up in a polo and plaid shorts. “I - hang on.” His phone buzzed, and he picked it up and read the new text. “Newt says he gets to meet you if I’m blowing him off like that. Should I invite him to come eat…?”

 

“Yes, please,” Raleigh said. “Least I can do. Uh...Newt?” This was interesting. He picked up his own phone and looked at Yancy’s text. “Good, Yancy is coming back with Tendo. Maybe Gages. Oh boy.” He kind of wanted Chuck all to himself, but on the other hand, it would be good to eat and talk, to act like things were normal...back to normal. He smiled and flopped onto the bed.

 

Chuck bit his lip. If even Raleigh had thought he was a fucking tool for doing what he did (and Chuck still didn’t get it), Tendo and Yancy… They had never liked him much. His stomach gave an unpleasant lurch. Fuck, they probably thought…

“This’ll be fun,” he said, fidgeting with the drawstring of the sweatpants he was wearing.

 

“Hey, Chuck,” Raleigh said, and he stood and put his hands on Chuck’s shoulders. “Look, I know…” He pressed his lips together, trying to think. “They do like you, you know, and they’re my friends so they’ve tried to be supportive but...you’re important to me, and...they understand that too, OK? They’ll be on their best behavior.” Or Raleigh would come up with interesting and creative punishments for them.

 

That didn’t sound a lot better to Chuck, though. Teasing and bantering was his default setting with Yancy - if Yancy were actually _polite_ to him, then it would be all the more obvious that things weren’t okay between them.

But he just shrugged. “If you say so,” he said. “Can Newt park in your drive?” He composed another text to Newt inviting him over.

 

“Yeah, it’s open to visitors on weekends,” Raleigh said, though his eyes widened. This was going - he didn’t want this to go wrong, and Chuck looked uncomfortable. He inhaled and then exhaled and reminded himself he sort of had a reason to be uncomfortable, and miserable as Chuck had been, he’d been the one to break up with them. “Mind if I join you in the shower?”

 

That made Chuck smile, at least. He nodded. “Only if you wash my hair,” he said, because he wasn’t above bribing Raleigh into scalp massages.

 

“Absolutely,” Raleigh said, and he opened the bedroom door and grinned at Chuck. Just going to have to accept this was a work in progress, he told himself.

 

* * *

 

There was a knock on the door just as Raleigh as tugging on a t-shirt. He glanced over at Chuck and then went to go and get it.

He was surprised by the kid who was at the other end - short, wearing a rumpled button down and khakis and large, sort of hipster glasses. “Hey,” he said. “You’re probably Newt? I’m Raleigh.” He held his hand out.

 

Not for the first time, Newt envied Chuck’s ability to score. “Hi,” he said, shaking Raleigh’s hand. “Yeah, I’m Newt. It’s nice to finally meet, uh, the dude who makes Chuck all…” He waved his hands around in the air.

“Shut up, I reserve the right to uninvite you,” Chuck said, emerging from Raleigh’s bedroom, still wearing Raleigh’s sweats (no underwear, so Raleigh better not tease him) and Raleigh’s t-shirt, pulled tight over his chest.

 

“You can’t, it’s my apartment,” Raleigh said, and swung his hand inwards. “There’s beer and booze in the fridge, and I think we might have Coke? Definitely ginger ale, for Yance’s Jack and Ginger’s…” Newt was definitely what he expected from MIT - but not from Chuck. He was kind of pleased, though he wasn’t sure why.

He was definitely pleased with Chuck’s lack of underwear, and kind of amused that his shirt was so tight on him…he knew Chuck was broad, but...this was very good. “You want something, Chuck?”

 

“Fuck, whatever,” Chuck said, shrugging. “As long as it’s not like, PBR, I’m good with beer.”

Newt thought about it - but he was probably going to drive back soon, so - “Just ginger ale for me, thanks.” When Raleigh turned to fetch the drinks, Newt widened his eyes and held his hands about eight inches apart, mouthing to Chuck _seriously??_

Chuck smirked and nodded.

 

“OK, um, Yuengling for Chuck,” Raleigh said, holding a beer out for Chuck. He pulled the ginger ale out of the fridge and poured some into two glasses, with ice, and then dumped some whiskey into his. “Ginger ale for Newt. So, um, how did you two meet each other?” He smiled. Pleasant conversation!

 

Chuck accepted the beer and cracked it open, taking a swig. “He’s my weird roommate’s weird friend,” he said. “And sometimes I get drunk and talk at him.”

Newt shrugged. All true. “Mostly about certain blond swimmers with puppy smiles and giant -”

“I swear to God, I will make you leave,” Chuck groaned.

 

Raleigh glanced down at his dick and sighed, then nodded his head. “Really, though, puppy smiles?” he said, and gestured over towards the couches. Might as well enjoy the calm before the storm. “And you have a weird roommate?” It was strange - he’d missed out on a whole month of Chuck’s life. A significant chunk, given it was his first month of college.

“He’s…” Newt said.

“Weird,” Chuck said, then to Newt, “Don’t even, mate, he’s fucking weird.”

“He’s very focused on his work,” Newt said. “A bit uptight. But overall…”

“He’s fine,” Chuck shrugged. “Surprisingly tolerant of my lifestyle choices. And like I said, you’re already probably his favorite person in the world - whole weekend without me disrupting his… whatever he does.”

“Math,” Newt said. “Of some variety.”

Chuck nodded.

 

Raleigh tried to envision this and just nodded his head. “OK,” he said. “That’s good. Um - so, you’re about to meet my dickhead brother, his disgruntled sidekick, and, uh, two of my teammates. And they’re...they’re fucking weird. Just so you know.” He took a long sip of his drink. This was going to be interesting.

 

Chuck chewed on his lip. “You know, it’s not too late,” he said, cajoling. “We could just leave. Get Taco Bell.”

“Am I invited, or…?” Newt said.

Chuck shrugged. “Sure, why not?”

 

“Fuck’s sake,” Yancy said, opening the door. “No, that is unacceptable, stop. Stop immediately.” He shook his head as he walked in, followed by the Gages, and then Tendo.

He cocked his head at the kid sitting on the couch opposite Chuck and Raleigh. This had to be whoever brought Chuck, which - well, this was _interesting._ “Hey,” he said. “Yancy.”

He pointed. “Gages. Tendo.” Then he walked over to the fridge to get drinks.

 

“Newt,” Newt said.

“Bruce,” Trevin said, pointing at Bruce.

“Trevin,” Bruce said, pointing at Trevin.

“Officially confused,” Newt said.

“No drama, you don’t need to remember their names.” Chuck said, appearing entirely calm except for the death grip he had around his can of beer.

“I feel like we should probably remember yours,” Trevin said.

Bruce raised his eyebrows. “Figure you’re gonna be -”

“Around for a while,” Trevin said.

Chuck bit his lip. “That’s the plan,” he said.

 

“Newt is Chuck’s weird roommate’s friend,” Raleigh said, since Newt seemed a little awkward to him, but not that bad. “I ordered a lot of pizza.”

“Great,” Yancy said, and he plopped down next to Newt. Tendo and the twins grabbed dining room chairs and pulled them into the circle. He sort of felt bad for Chuck, douchebag and tool that he was, because he looked like he was going to shit his pants.

Shit Raleigh’s pants, actually. “Lose your own clothes in that mound in Rals’ room?” he asked. “I’m pretty sure its sentient at this point.”

 

Newt snorted. “Chuck has no room to talk there. His -”

“Hey now,” Chuck said. “That is a form of passive resistance to the _line of tape_ across the middle of the room. If he deigns to give me my own space, I’m gonna use it to fuck with him.”

Trevin and Bruce traded looks. Not exactly what they had expected, from Raleigh’s mystery man.

 

“A line of tape?” Raleigh asked. Now he wanted to meet this guy.

“Ooh,” Yancy said. He glanced over at Tendo, who was sort of scowling, and tapped two fingers to his thigh, reminding him of their discussion at the cafe. Raleigh was happy, and setting Chuck off would make Raleigh unhappy. So long as Chuck had made sufficient amends to Raleigh for his incredibly dumbass decision, they would accept it as well, despite the month of caretaking they’d done for the saddest puppy in the world. “When did the spite fence get put up?”

 

“I may have, uh…” Chuck said, looking up at the ceiling.

“I’m not sure if it was the used condom in his shoe or the beer can rings on his differential equations problem set that was the straw on the camel’s back,” Newt filled in, smiling at Chuck when Chuck glared at him.

 

Yancy closed his eyes for a moment and counted to three. “Still, that’s a bit extreme,” he said, finally, and took a very long sip from his drink before looking over at Raleigh.

Raleigh nodded his head. Right then. “It doesn’t sound as bad as Gardener, though,” he said, and shuddered slightly at the memory of his freshman roommate. “Dried the crew spandies he never washed on my bed, because _I don’t want to get that on my sheets, dude, they’re one thousand thread count._ ”

“I have a class with him,” Tendo said, finally having something to add that he could keep a neutral tone on. “He wore a lovely pair of whale embroidered pants the other day.”

 

“I don’t even know what that means,” Newt said. “Is that like… pants with whales embroidered on them? Why?”

“Vineyard Vines, right?” Chuck said. Everything he knew of frat culture, he’d picked up at footy practice, but their favored brand was Brooks Brothers.

 

“Yes,” said Raleigh. “So much pastel.”

Yancy shook his head - he sort of liked pastel? So what if he’d drank the Kool-Aid a little bit. What was he supposed to do, some kid from Alaska who turned up with a duffle bag full of lumpy sweaters. “It’s a bit of a thing around here. You might have noticed.”

 

Chuck shrugged. “Bit fratty, yeah, but you’re no Alabama State.” He looked up and caught Tendo’s eye, kind of by accident, and flinched. Yeah, Tendo had never liked him much, but -

He stood up and walked into the kitchen to throw away his empty beer can, staying there out of sight for a minute to breathe deeply and collect himself, fingers clenched on the edge of the counter.

Raleigh started to stand up, and Bruce raised a hand and gestured him back down. Trevin stood and walked into the kitchen, and Bruce leaned over to look at Tendo. “You think the last month didn’t suck for him too?” he said in an undertone.

 

Fucking Gages, Tendo thought, they were so… he couldn’t even come up with a good word. They were like social workers, there was always something in the way that they looked at you that made you feel a little bit bad about your life choices. Or maybe that was just Tendo. Raleigh seemed to love them. They’d adopted him the second he turned up for swim practice.

 

Newt’s eyes darted between Yancy and Tendo. Funny, but he’d kind of expected Yancy to be the hard-ass here, from what Chuck said. “The last month sucked for him,” he said. “I can vouch for that.”

“And it took some balls for him to come back.” Bruce said. “So - cut him some fucking slack, Choi.”

The Gages didn’t swear very often. When they did, it had a kind of resonance to it. Part of having a deep voice, probably.

 

“I know, I know,” Tendo said. He looked at Raleigh, who nodded his head. “OK, yeah, fine.” He held his hands up and shook his head. He was going to have to deal with it. Chuck was probably going to be around...often.

“That’s a good boy, Tendo,” Yancy said. “Though you’re going to have to color Rals a new picture for his door, aren’t you?”

Tendo took a very long drink from his beer and nodded his head. “Tigger,” he said.

“Perfect,” said Yancy. Raleigh flipped him off.

 

Chuck and Trevin came back at that moment. Chuck was noticeably more relaxed, the tension eased from his shoulders. He was grinning at something Trevin had been saying, dimples flashing. “And then -”

“She starts to move her hand down to his crotch and finally, _finally_ Raleigh realizes she’s hitting on him,” Trevin said. “And he kind of -”

“Squawked,” Bruce filled in.

“Never seen a guy move so fast,” Trevin said.

“Bolted out, all, did you know that girl was…?” Bruce said.

“ _Yes_ ,” they said together.

 

Raleigh shook his head slowly, remembering the incident distinctly. He sighed as Chuck sat down next to him, grinning. At least he was grinning, though, and Raleigh took another sip from his drink.

Yancy shook his head at them. “Did you know that she was what? Not all of us speak Gage.”

 

Bruce cocked his head to the side. “In hockey, we call them puck bunnies.”

“There’s probably an equivalent on the swim team,” Trevin said.

“Moving her way through the varsity starters.”

“But Rals wasn’t swimming fly on the medley yet, so -”

Bruce shrugged.

“It’s the giant dick,” Chuck said. “Doesn’t need to be varsity to want to hop on that.” Yeah, Raleigh was uncomfortable with too much conversation about it - but it was the elephant in the room. Had to be brought up sometimes, just… it was relevant, and all.

 

Raleigh made an anguished sound and buried his head in his hands. Then he looked up. “Yes, it probably was, considering she pointed right at it,” he said.

“And she had seen you in those very tight little swim shorts,” Yancy added, because - yeah, nothing left to the imagination. “I remember, after your first meet, I go to class, and Becca Hardley just looks at me, and mouths _Raleigh_ and-” he shook his head. “I had to break her heart gently.”

“Were you not, like, dating what’s his name at that point, anyway?” Tendo asked, and moved his leg before Yancy could kick at it.

 

Chuck reached over and took Raleigh’s hand between both of his, playing with his fingers. “My favorite part of your giant cock is how you seem to expect sympathy for it. Like, woe is me, I have a fucking horse cock, pity me.”

“I, for one, would not mind changing the subject,” Newt said.

“Winning points with Raleigh there,” Bruce said, grinning.

 

“So many points,” said Raleigh. “I just don’t see why we have to talk about it all the time.”

“That’s because you have-” Tendo began, before Yancy actually made contact. “Yes, fine, changing subject. What should we talk about? What else do we have in common besides-”

“I don’t think Newt has that in common, Tendo, and so it’s making him uncomfortable,” Yancy said. “Be nice to our guest or I will make you leave. Do you like MIT, Newt?”

 

Newt lit up.

“Fucked up, Yance-y,” Chuck said, stumbling over his name because, well, was he even allowed to use nicknames anymore?

“Hey man, he asked,” Newt said.

“And I’m sick of hearing about prokaryotic genomes,” Chuck said, rolling his eyes. “And whatever genetic replication shit you’re always - you know everyone here is a humanities major besides you, right?”

“Neuroscience, actually,” Trevin said.

 

“Physics and computer science,” Tendo added, and he smiled at Chuck.

“Oh man,” Raleigh said. This wasn’t exactly what he was expected, and he was so fucking relieved. Thank God Yancy hadn’t jettisoned the Gages like he probably would have liked to.

“So you like it?” Yancy asked. He was legitimately curious. He would never have gone to a big college, let alone a tech school. And he didn’t want to ask Chuck because Chuck would insist he fucking loved it.

 

“Yeah, it’s amazing,” Newt said - gushed, more like. “The professors really emphasize hands-on research, and there are a lot of opportunities to do lab work with them. I’m already signed on to write a paper with my molecular biology adviser next year. Plus Boston has really good Italian food.” He grinned.

“I agree with that last bit,” Chuck said. “Dunno about the first.”

“And it’s definitely competitive, but not as pretentious as the Big Three,” Newt said. “Definitely -”

Chuck tuned him out. He’d heard it all before. Taking Newt’s babbling as a distraction, though, he leaned in and whispered in Raleigh’s ear, “Really fucking good Italian. Next time you visit I’m taking you out, so, bring a blazer.”

 

Raleigh almost groaned - bastard, he thought - and bit at his lower lip. He leaned back in. “I really like you in my clothes,” he said. “You really, uh, fill out that shirt.” He did, too, it was almost too small on him and was definitely stretching over his shoulders and chest. Fuck - and Raleigh sighed internally, because how stereotypical could he get? Bottom, likes getting tied up, boyfriend bigger than him…

He smiled. Boyfriend.

“Wait, wait,” Yancy said, which got Raleigh’s attention. “So you’re, like, a mad scientist, basically?”

 

Chuck squeezed Raleigh’s hand one final time before releasing it, letting his own hand fall onto his thigh, drawing attention down to… “Yeah,” he said. “But actually.”

“Molecular biology is not mad science,” Newt protested.

“But like, genetic engineering is, and that’s your concentration,” Chuck said. “And you’re all - Newt-ish about DNA manipulation, it’s kind of…”

“Newtish is a good thing, right?” Newt said.

Chuck grinned.

 

“It’s cool, like, really cool,” Yancy said. “I tried to take a biochemistry course because I was thinking about getting into art preservation and I got the fuck out of there after the first test.” He shook his head. “No clue what the fuck they were on. Went back to Contemporary Literary Theory, and have been pretentious ever since.”

Raleigh remembered this. “It was a dark time,” he said. Yancy was not used to failure.

“I did my best, man,” Tendo said. Yancy nodded his head.

 

“Not missing much, everyone knows physics is the best hard science,” Chuck said. “I would have majored in astrophysics if I hadn’t gotten into architecture.”

 

There was a knock on the door, then, and Raleigh jumped up to get the pizza, a little relieved. Then he realized his wallet was in the bed - probably, with his luck, under the condom, and he stopped and looked back at everyone. “It was like $50,” he said. Gave them a sheepish grin.

 

Newt started to pull out his wallet, but Chuck shook his head at him. “You’re not paying, fucker, I got this.” Then Chuck felt in his pocket before realizing his wallet was still in his shorts.

While everyone else was digging around for cash, Trevin quietly went to the door and paid the full bill, giving the pizza guy a generous tip and waving him away with a smile.

 

“Oh, thanks, I will pay you back, once I find my…” Raleigh waved his hand and took some pizzas from Trevin. “So, I ordered boring, vegetables, meat, and extra meat,” he said, setting the boxes on the table.

Yancy slapped some paper plates down with napkins. “Right, then, feast,” he said.

 

There was the usual lull in conversation of seven college-aged boys gorging themselves on pizza and beer, and only after he had finished three slices did Chuck sit back and relax, pleasantly surprised by how well things had gone. He suspected someone was the cause for that, as things had warmed up considerably after his kitchen foray - first assumption was Raleigh, but the Gages seemed to be a rather seamless team, from what little he knew of them. A bit terrifyingly so. Or maybe even Newt? Seemed unlikely though.

“So it’s cool if I stay for the weekend?” he said in a low voice to Raleigh, though not so quietly that someone couldn’t listen in if they wanted to.

 

“Of course it is,” Raleigh said. “Why wouldn’t it be?” He reached over and squeezed Chuck’s thigh and smiled, content. Chuck, great sex with Chuck, pizza, and he was a little drunk.

 

Chuck, for once, was stone-cold sober, mostly because he hadn’t even finished his second can of beer. He leaned in closer, lowering his voice further. “I don’t mean if I have permission, I knew that. I mean, in your professional opinion, are things gonna be weird, or…? How much more groveling do I have to do?”

 

“Um,” Raleigh said, because he didn’t think Chuck had really done any - not that he cared. Yancy could suck it. “I don’t think any? Yancy seems, um, completely unsurprised that you’re here, and...I don’t think there is anything to worry about.”

 

“Great,” Chuck said, and he may have been grinning like an idiot but who gave a fuck. He brushed a kiss over Raleigh’s lips before pulling away.

Turning, he caught Newt watching him with a curious, thoughtful look. Chuck raised an eyebrow, and Newt seemed to snap out of it, grinning at him and flashing him two thumbs up.

Oh Christ, Chuck thought. Next time he and Newt were alone together, he was going to get the Inquisition, wasn’t he?

 

Raleigh looked at Newt, curious. Definitely not just Chuck’s weird roommate’s weird friend, but he would let Chuck keep up that fiction. After all, the guy cared enough to drive him to Amherst.

“Oh, but I’ve got, shit, time trials tomorrow morning,” Raleigh said. “To get a baseline before we start practicing, see how much we improve.”

 

“I’m a late sleeper, usually,” Chuck said. “I might not even be awake when you get back.”

 

“OK, cool,” Raleigh said.

“Or-” said Trevin.

“You could come,” said Bruce.

“See Raleigh in his natural element-”

“And very tiny swim shorts,” said Bruce.

“Relevant to your interests?” Trevin finished.

Yancy looked pressed, shook his head, and went for another drink.

 

Chuck thought about this. He’d seen Raleigh shirtless a fair amount at camp, but the swim shorts would be new. “Yeah,” he said, grinning. “Little bit, yeah. If it’s not too weird for me to be sitting in the stands perving on Rals from afar.”

 

“Lots of people come to perv,” Raleigh said. “Not on me, but...yes. I just have to go from 10:00 to 10:30, anyway, so it won’t be long.” He narrowed his eyes at Bruce and Trevin, but figured they probably knew what they were doing. And Chuck had never seen him actually swim.

 

“I am willing to bet hard cash more people come to perv on you than you realize,” Chuck said. “Granted, it’s probably better not to think about that. I’d definitely freeze up playing footy if I knew everyone watching was thinking about my arse or cock, or whatever.”

“Dude,” Newt said. Then, “Nah, not getting into it.”

 

“I, uh, try not to,” Raleigh said.

“Getting into what?” Yancy asked, intrigued. He liked Newt. He sort of wanted one. There weren’t too many weird little mad scientists at Amherst - just variations on preppy.

 

“Oh, uh,” Newt said, gaze darting between Raleigh and Yancy. “It’s nothing you’d be interested in. There’s this girl who - Um, never mind,” he said, when Chuck scowled at him.

Christ, Chuck thought. Newt really, really had to stop bringing up the people he’d hooked up with while he and Raleigh were broken up. It got more awkward every time.

 

“Well,” Raleigh said. “At least you’re not in tiny swim shorts.” He shrugged.

“Now you can empathize with Raleigh, Chuck,” Yancy added. Newt just got better and better. He wondered if they could keep him - except Chuck probably wouldn’t like that, so. “Tendo, dude, you still want to go to the International House Party tonight?”

Tendo nodded. “I’ve got some, uh-” He looked at the Gages, remembering how they kept trying to have talks about drugs with Raleigh his freshman year and how confused Raleigh was, “-stuff to drink back at mine, plus I think Geneva is having people over, so…”

“Excellent,” Yancy said. “Let me get my coat.” He smiled at Raleigh.

 

“Very subtle, Choi,” Bruce said, shaking his head.

“It’s not like everyone knows -”

“About you two -”

“And we don’t care about it -”

“Except you’re going to get Rals kicked off the team.”

Trevin shook his head.

“It’s like a circus act,” Chuck said, watching this with interest.

 

“You said it didn’t matter,” Raleigh said, wide-eyed. “As long as during the season-”

“You two are fucking sadists under those genial grins, you know that?” Yancy said, pulling his jacket on and shaking his head at the two them. “If you other two decide to go out tonight, let me know, yeah?” He opened the door and basically pushed Tendo out.

 

“You’re good, Raleigh,” Trevin said, patting his head.

Bruce stood. “Well…”

“We should go.”

“We had a good time.”

“It was nice meeting you, Chuck,” Trevin said, shooting him a wide, warm grin.

“And you, Newt.”

They waved.

“Cheers,” Chuck said, and shook his head as they left. “That’s fucking freaky.”

 

“Yeeah,” Raleigh said. “They are always like that, too, it’s…” He shrugged. He knew it was creepy, but it honestly didn’t bother him like it Yancy. Or most other people. “They’re really great guys, though.”

 

“Yeah,” Chuck said, smiling. “I, uh, I got that idea.”

Newt stood up. “I should probably head back, if I don’t wanna drive too much in the dark. I, uh, think this is good, though.” He waved at the two of them. “You’re very - cute. And, uh, if Chuck won’t be all… mopey, anymore, that’s good.”

 

“Newt, it was really nice to meet you,” Raleigh said. “Thanks for, um...bringing Chuck, I...thanks.” He smiled at him. “If you ever want to come hang out with a bunch of humanities majors, you’re welcome back.”

 

“Yeah, you guys are a real trip,” Newt said. “Is that a phrase? That sounds like a phrase.” He gathered his things and left, clearly pondering the realness of this phrase.

Chuck slumped into Raleigh, exhausted, both from the sex and from the effort of socializing in that particular group. “You should give me a massage,” he said. “I deserve it.”

 

“Brat,” Raleigh said, and slung his arm around Chuck’s waist. “Let’s get you to bed.” He kissed at Chuck’s neck, inhaling the scent of him, and made a soft, approving sound. _Mine,_ he thought, and pulled Chuck’s - his - t-shirt down a bit to see where he had left his own mark.

 

Chuck grinned at him. “You like me in your clothes with your hickeys, huh? Not surprised. Maybe I’ll take some of ‘em back with me, you can think about me wearing your undershirt or socks or jacket or whatever during the day. Jack off thinking of me doing the same thing in only your t-shirt.”

 

Raleigh just groaned. “Fuck,” he managed, finally. “Yes.” He smiled, then. “Yancy will have to get his goddamn noise cancelling headphones, too, that’ll show him.”

 

Chuck bit his lip. “I like that image,” he said, quirking his lips. “Love the noises you make, sweetheart.” He stood, tugging Raleigh up and towing him towards the bedroom.

 

Raleigh got onto the bed first and moved back so Chuck could climb in with him. He smiled, watching Chuck move, easier now than the first time, even if he was tired.

“God, I missed you,” he said.

 

“Yeah,” Chuck said. “I know.” But he smiled at Raleigh - after everything he had said, everything Newt had said, Raleigh had to know it was mutual.

He curled up on his side, facing Raleigh, and set his hand on Raleigh’s hip. “I should text Mako,” he said without moving for his phone.

 

“OK,” Raleigh said, stretching a bit. “Or you can text her later, when I’m done with you…”

 

“Done with me?” Chuck asked, lips spreading in a grin. “What does that entail, exactly?” He rubbed his thumb in a light circle.

 

“Well, you wanted a massage, didn’t you?” Raleigh asked, and he reached forward and tugged at the hem of Chuck’s shirt. “And then, we’ll see?”

 

Chuck shed his shirt and rolled over onto his stomach. “If you do my shoulders along with my arse, I’ll give you my firstborn, I swear.”

 

“I’ll do it without the incentive,” Raleigh said, straddling over Chuck and gently working his fingers over his shoulders before beginning to dig in, using his thumbs to search for knots. “Though I bet you would have a cute, ginger child.”

 

Chuck didn’t plan on having children, actually. He’d been scared off the whole notion by his own father - so many things could go wrong, and then where were you? - but that didn’t seem like appropriate pillow talk conversation.

Not when he was already loosening up, mouth going slack and entire body unclenching as Raleigh worked him over. “I do generally believe in reciprocity and reward, though,” he said. “But I think it’s cheating if you ask for anything while you’ve got me like this, because I’d probably hand over… Christ, I’d hand over _Max_ if you wanted.” Well, that was hyperbole.

 

“Really?” Raleigh asked, possibly a little too eager as he moved down to the middle of Chuck’s back. He kneaded his knuckles right about Chuck’s ass and groaned. “You’re right tight here,” he said, and began to find the knots and press into them until they released. “There we go. But seriously - Max?”

 

“Stop tryna steal my dog,” Chuck said, and God, Raleigh’s hands were warm and big and strong. He could feel himself start to harden in a kind of distant way, lost in the simple pleasure of being manhandled like that, rolling his hips lazy and slow. And fuck, Raleigh’s weight on his back…

 

“I’m not stealing him, you were offering,” Raleigh said, grinning as Chuck rolled his hips. He moved off his back and between his leg to get to his ass, again light with fingers to start and then slowly working in, harder and deeper. He groaned at the sight of Chuck, the muscle and heft to ass, round in all the right ways. “I don’t know, short of Max, I can’t think of anything…”

 

Chuck moaned when Raleigh got to his ass, pushing back with a little more urgency. “Backburner,” he said, muffled into the pillow. “What about now, huh? What do you want from me right now?” He peeked over his shoulder, eyes heavy-lidded but heated.

 

“I want you inside me,” Raleigh said, digging his fingers deep into Chuck’s ass. “If you’re up for it…” He was beginning to get hard from the way Chuck was moving beneath him, and then that look in his eyes, the way his lashes were against his face?

 

“Yeah, alright, yeah,” Chuck said. He luxuriated for another minute in the pressure of Raleigh’s fingers working his muscles, then rolled over, pushing at Raleigh’s chest. “On your back, love. Get naked.”

He climbed off the bed and found his shorts, pulling another condom out of the back pocket. He ripped it open and slid it on while he was already there, then settled himself at the foot of the bed, waiting for Raleigh to be ready.

 

Raleigh stripped quickly and then watched as Chuck pulled the condom over himself - he hadn’t realized Chuck was hard, and, fuck. “Just from that?” he asked, getting on his back and spread his legs to give Chuck the most access possible. He reached and tossed the lube to Chuck.

 

“Massages are a thing for me,” Chuck said, squeezing some lube between his palms and rubbing it between them to warm it. He coated his fingers and trailed them down to Raleigh’s ass, rubbing around the rim without quite dipping in. “S’almost better than a handjob at getting me hard. And if you can imagine the most awkward way possible for me to find that out, believe me, it can’t be as bad as it actually was in real life.” He shook his head as he finally pushed the tip of his pointer finger inside. Fuck, Raleigh was tight.

 

“Ah,” Raleigh said, considering the situation and grinning a little bit. “I’ll keep that in mind, though...that’s useful.” Chuck’s finger already felt like it took up too much space and so he closed his eyes for a moment and consciously relaxed, pressed back against Chuck and then opened his eyes.

He paused, for a moment, because he had thought this would never happen again - Chuck, between his legs, fingers in him, stretching him, cock hard and ready for him. He moaned as Chuck lightly touched his prostate.

 

Chuck shuffled down and looked at his cock. Embarrassingly, his mouth was watering just at the idea, and he laughed a little at himself before taking it into his mouth. He was way too sleepy and content to pull any fancy tricks at the moment, so he just sucked lightly on the head, tonguing over the slit and then lapping at the underside.

It had the added benefit of helping loosen Raleigh up, and he quickly worked up to three fingers, twisting and spreading them inside Raleigh.

 

“Oh, god, Chuck, please,” Raleigh said, aching for it as Chuck spread three fingers deep inside him. His mouth was still on him, as well, sucking at his tip and driving Raleigh crazy - it was a good thing they had fucked before this, or… “Fuck, your mouth is so good, Chuck, please…”

He circled his hips and then worked them against Chuck’s fingers, desperately wanting more of him. He moaned as Chuck hit straight on his prostate.

 

Chuck smirked, bobbing his head shallowly, keeping his mouth slack as he sucked on the head. He swirled his tongue around it, greedily licking up the precome that spurted out.

“Please what, love?” he pulled off to ask. “Please fuck you? You sure you’re ready for it?” He sank down again, swallowing around Raleigh’s cock, fingers twisting, a relentless assault on his prostate.

 

“Yes, please fuck me, please...Chuck, I need you,” he said, and he did need it, fuck. Even more with Chuck’s endless attention to his prostate - he was so fucking hard. “I’m ready, I want you so badly, please.”

He ran his fingers through Chuck’s hair, still a little wet from the shower, and groaned as he just pressed on his prostate and licked the most sensitive spot of his dick. “Chuuck…”

 

Chuck was doing pretty well holding off, and then Raleigh said his name like that and it was all over for his self-control. “Fuck,” he bit out, hurriedly squeezing more lube onto his hand and slicking himself with it. He stretched out over Raleigh, holding himself up on his arms, and kissed him hungrily as he worked his cock inside in tiny, circling rolls. He panted against Raleigh’s lips.

 

“Yes, Chuck, yes,” Raleigh moaned, and he pulled Chuck in with his hand to get a more complete kiss. “I missed you, missed feeling you inside me, fuck, your cock…” He pushed back against Chuck, pulling him in tighter, and then grabbed him with his legs. “More, Chuck. I want more - more of you…”

 

So much for keeping this slow. Chuck pulled out and shoved back in, his cock so hard it almost hurt. He wound his fingers through Raleigh’s hair and held his head so he could kiss him breathless, scraping his teeth against his bottom lip as he drew away. “I tried so fucking hard to stay away,” he whispered, a confession. “But I can’t do it, Rals, I can’t - you’re too good, need you, always.” His hips snapped forward, rocking the bed -

And yeah, Chuck realized smugly, that was the sound of the headboard knocking against the wall.

 

“Oh, fuck,” Raleigh murmured, not sure how to take what Chuck said at first - tried so hard to stay away? - but then he realized it meant he had won over Chuck’s stubbornness, his decision to stick to his plan. “You’re so good to me, Chuck, I - I need you too, need you so much.”

He kissed him again, slid his mouth down Chuck’s neck and nuzzled in there, breathing heavy as Chuck bucked into him, hard. “Fuck, you’re - that’s right there, Chuck, right like that…” And there it was, building inside him - he was bursting with need for this release, even more than the first time.

 

“Yeah, sweetheart, so close,” Chuck said, bracing his hand against the headboard for leverage, so he could hold himself in place once he’d found the perfect angle. He bit his lip, but was unable to trap the moan that rumbled deep in his chest, and - Fuck, he was so close, he could feel his balls drawing up with it. “I fucking - c’mon, love, want you to come for me. You can do that for me, yeah?” He wrapped his fingers around Raleigh’s cock and stripped it to the same rhythm of the rocking of his hips, tight and slick.

 

Chuck was fucking him, hard and deep, and Raleigh had needed this so much - needed to be filled, to have Chuck over him.

“Yes, fuck, yes, yes, Chuck,” Raleigh groaned out, because all it really took was Chuck’s hand on him and he was coming - hard, long beautiful waves and he was arching his back into it. He trailed his mouth down Chuck’s neck as he groaned, every nerve inside him sparking and coming to life as came. “Oh, fuck, oh, fuck…” He murmured.

 

Chuck’s back bowed as Raleigh’s internal walls clenched around him, and he gave a guttural groan and came, so hard he nearly black out from it. He slumped over, collapsing onto Raleigh. Starting to push off, he remembered how Raleigh had tugged him back the last time, and he allowed himself to sink down on top of him, weight settling over him like a particularly heavy blanket.

He chuckled breathlessly. “Yancy’s gonna need those noise-cancelling headphones,” he said.

 

Raleigh moaned as Chuck came, clenching his legs around him, their orgasms nearly simultaneous. He sighed as Chuck laid over top of him.

“Yeah,” Raleigh said with a grin, when he realized what Chuck had said. He wrapped an arm around Chuck, savoring the weight of him. He kissed him, lightly, on the lips, and then gave him a brilliant smile. “Which is good. Payback.”

 

Chuck laughed. “Is he loud?” He traced his fingertips over Raleigh’s lips, enraptured at the curve of them. He had about a three minute window before he fell asleep, but he was so bloody content, warm and secure and bone-meltingly satisfied.

 

“You have no fucking idea,” Raleigh said. Chuck’s fingers felt incredible. He pushed some hair out of his face. “Well, maybe you might, someday. He’s been, uh...there’s a girl, but it’s just for sex, I think. I don’t even know who she is. I just see her shoes, sometimes. He’s kind of upset about Alona, still…”

 

Chuck licked his lips. “Makes you feel better, at least for a little while. Then you just feel like shit.” At least, for him. Maybe it was better for Yancy, because Yancy may have had feelings for Alona, but Chuck didn’t think he felt quite the same passion as Chuck did for Raleigh.

 

“I think he’s getting to the shit phase,” Raleigh said. He didn’t like the idea of Chuck with anyone else - but what could he do? “But...I don’t know, I don’t think it’s quite the same. I mean, she was pretty awesome, but…” He shrugged. “They had fun. You’re gonna fall asleep on me, huh?”

 

“We had fun,” Chuck said, just to be contrary. Then he added, “But I see the difference. And yes. Yes, I am.” He yawned and nuzzled Raleigh’s chest.

 

“I’m gonna read a bit, OK?” Raleigh said, since he wasn’t immediately tired. He reached for his Feminist Theory book and cracked it open, putting his pen in his mouth.

 

“I’m gonna…” Chuck pulled out, clumsily peeling off the condom and tossing it to the side. Then he collapsed back over Raleigh. “Night, love,” he said, breath evening out almost immediately.


	14. Chapter 14

Raleigh walked out of the locker room, a lot less tense than he had been at any practice so far this year. He wondered if it would affect his times - like the Gage’s said, he had been plowing a lot of his sadness and anger into his swimming. He went through all his stretches and then put his arms above his head, tugging at each shoulder.

“What are you testing?” Trevin asked, leaning down and touching his toes.

“200 IM, obviously,” Bruce said.

“Uh, coach wants a one hundred free and a fifty fly,” Raleigh said. Made sense, since they were both for relays.

“Then you’re against both of us-”

“For the one hundred.”

“Yeah, well, try not to make me look too bad,” Raleigh said.

He went up to the starting blocks when he was called and gave a small little wave to Chuck, scattered amongst the various other swimmers from the team who had stuck around to see the top varsity performers and some friends and girlfriends here for moral support. Then he leaned down, ass high in the air - Chuck should like that - and flew off the block for his start, plowing into butterfly.

 

Chuck leaned forward on his elbows, watching with unabashed interest as Raleigh sliced through the water. Raleigh’s body was already nice enough to admire when he was just standing around, but when it was flexing, graceful as a fucking dolphin - Christ.

 _Christ_.

Chuck was normally pretty good about this, but he was actually getting hard in his shorts, and he shifted and tugged his shirt down to cover it. Raleigh was really good. Chuck wasn’t shy about being attracted to talent.

 

Raleigh tapped in and pulled out, eager to see his time. He badly wanted under 1:50 for his IM this year - that would probably get him to Nationals, with the one threshold set at 1:49. He grinned and pumped his fist at 1:49:34. Close, and just a little more work to shave off the rest. And one second better than his personal best last time.

Trevin offered a hand. “That’s it, Rals.”

“Shark,” said Bruce.

“Torpedo,” offered Trevin.

“Well,” Raleigh said. “That will hopefully make up for my freestyle.” He smiled at both of them.

He stretched again, grabbed his water, and then went over to the wall between the stands and the pool ground, whipping his cap off on the way. He waved Chuck down and grinned at him. “So, that wasn’t too bad,” he said, as the team’s three top breast strokers got on the starting blocks.

 

Chuck jogged down the stands and grinned as he got to the bottom. He leaned on his elbows up against the wall. “That wasn’t too bad at all,” he said, almost purring. His smile was small and dirty. “I might have to start coming by for your meets, yeah?”

 

‘If you want,” Raleigh said. “They can get really boring, uh, with the distance swimming and stuff, but I’d really like if you did. We do our midseason meet at MIT, too,” he said. He’d been fucking dreading that one and it was weird to feel the exact opposite now.

 

“Raleigh, sweetheart,” Chuck said. “I’m really, really not going to get bored of that. Like, ever.” He reached up and toyed with a lock of Raleigh’s hair.

 

Raleigh grinned and smiled at Chuck. “Yeah but I only swim four events,” he said, watching as the breaststrokers finished and backstrokers hopped in.

 

“And you can’t keep me company the rest of the time?” Chuck pouted. “C’mon, I’m tryna perv on you in your little bikini bottoms, you gotta give me something to work with here.” He batted his eyelashes teasingly.

 

“Yes, I definitely can,” Raleigh said. “And you can perv. And they’re shorts,” he said, looking down. No one had worn speedos in years. “But I need to go and swim my fly, yeah?”

He bent down on the starting block again, sure to really press his ass up for Chuck as he dove into the water.

 

Chuck stayed at the wall, because the closer he was to Raleigh, the better view he had of his ass. He felt kind of weird perving on him like this, but hell, he had Raleigh’s permission, that made it acceptable, right? And it wasn’t like anyone else was doing any differently. Even straight guys could admire the objective prettiness of Raleigh’s abs.

 

Raleigh grinned as he pressed in - twenty-five seconds, right where he needed to be. He got out and took a quick stretch, then grimaced at the thought of the one hundred free. Not that he wasn’t good, but he wasn’t as good as he was at his other events.

Trevin smacked his ass. “Got this, Rals.”

“Second relay, at least,” Bruce added.

Raleigh felt the burn in his muscles, this time, and his frustration grew as the Gages got a quick lead on him - each turn and they moved further ahead. He tried to use it to motivate him but he felt himself lagging. And here, he supposed, was where his anger, sadness, and frustration was supposed to fuel him.

Chuck was watching, though. He probably should come in last.

He gasped for air after his final haul - 48.3 wasn’t shabby, but nowhere near the 45.0’s the Gage’s swam. He was fifth, though, out of eight. He pulled himself out of the water and felt a little floppy.

 

Chuck was sitting on the lowest bench in the stands, watching Raleigh pull himself out of the water with total focus. His eyes were bright, the intrigue clearly evident. He licked his lips as Raleigh walked over this time.

“You’re good,” he said. “Pretty, yeah, but - good. These times normal for you?”

 

“Um, well, the IM time is like a second and half faster and I just need a bit more for nationals qualifying,” Raleigh said. “Fly is a little better than last year, close to nationals - but that’s for a one hundred - and my freestyle sucks, so. No improvement there, either.” He grimaced.

 

Chuck unfolded himself from his seat and approached the wall. “If we weren’t in public, I’d fuck you right now,” he said, tone conversational and even. He eyed the water droplets streaking down Raleigh’s abs and pooling in the crevices of his muscles with more than polite interest. “Sorry, I know this is your passion, and all, but it’s basically just free porn for me.”

 

“Well, that’s like a win-win, then, isn’t it?” Raleigh asked, and he leaned up and kissed Chuck lightly on the lips. “I need to shower so I don’t reek of chemicals - do you want to go and get brunch with the Gages?” He turned, and the twins waved at both of them. “There’s a cute place in town…”

 

“Uh, sure,” Chuck said, nodding back at them. He could probably handle that. If Raleigh wanted him to.

They were kind of weird, though.

He smiled and nudged Raleigh’s shoulder. “So does that mean you’re gonna come to my games, then? The big ones, at least.”

 

“Sure, yeah, if I don’t have a meet,” he said. “I mean, we compete mostly in the winter so should work out. I’d like to see you play,” he said. He hadn’t thought much of Chuck playing soccer, but it was probably...very sweaty, at least. Did they wear short shorts? “What position are you?”

 

“Striker,” Chuck said. “But you don’t have to. Unlike swim meets, I wouldn’t be able to pay you any attention during.” And if they lost, he would be all pissy afterwards, but he didn’t say that. Too early to ruin the magical honeymoon period where Raleigh somehow convinced himself Chuck wasn’t a headcase.

 

“You can pay attention to me after,” Raleigh said. “Gimme, like, five minutes!”

He was incredibly quick in the locker room, accepting congratulations from everyone as he tugged on his jeans and a faded t-shirt from the laundry pile - he was definitely going to have to take care of that, this one sort of smelled.

Chuck was right where he left him, and Raleigh gave him a quick kiss before Bruce and Trevin approached.

“What are you feelings, generally-”

“-on waffles?” Bruce finished. They both smiled at Chuck.

“They have really good waffles,” Raleigh said.

 

“I like waffles. General good feelings,” Chuck said. Apparently the creepy double-talk was something he was going to have to get used to. Good to know.

 

“Car is out back,” Bruce said.

Raleigh took Chuck’s hand as they walked and sort of smiled shyly at a few people who noticed. He was glad no one stopped him, though - _so, this the asshole that had you go all sad puppy on us?_ Though a few people gave fairly long looks.

 

Chuck also noticed the looks, and he spent some time wondering if they were straight-up homophobes, or if they were Tendo-style friends of Raleigh’s who hated him on sight for what he’d done to him. Either way, not great.

Chuck, naturally, responded to this by getting handsier with every look, until he was walking with his hand tucked into Raleigh’s back pocket, arm tight around his waist. On one particularly long stare, he actually met the girl’s eyes and flashed her a measured smile before licking Raleigh’s neck. Fucking bitch.

 

“Oh, Tenley,” said Bruce, after Chuck licked Raleigh’s neck.

“Madly in love with Rals,” said Trevin.

“She’s not-” Raleigh protested.

“There’s a reason she talked to you about the Kinsey scale in earnest,” Bruce said, and shook his head.

 

“S’not even a real name,” Chuck said, biting at Raleigh’s jaw. Not to prove a point - just because he was already there, and it was tempting.

 

Raleigh was starting to get a little hard, which - not the best condition to be in for brunch, so he Chuck a very light smack. More of a tap. _Bad Chuck!_ Like when Max begged for food. “There are so many people around here with not real names,” he said.

“Really?” Bruce said, after a silent moment. “Raleigh and Yancy?” He unlocked the car and hopped into the driver’s seat.

 

“Dunno which one of you is Trevin, but he shouldn’t be talking,” Chuck said. He pulled away from Raleigh’s neck, satisfied. Maybe he should have put some of the marks higher up on his neck, for obvious reasons.

He slid into the backseat. “Although yes, I am in total agreement. Raleigh is a city, and Yancy is… Yancy isn’t even anything. S’just bloody ridiculous.”

 

“It’s actually a, um, French-German last name,” Raleigh said. “Like from Alsace-Lorraine?”

“Speaking of,” said Trevin, “we thought we would help you out, Chuck.”

“You did camp with the dynamic duo, but there have to be things-”

“You want to know,” Trevin said.

“Oh, no,” said Raleigh.

 

Chuck looked up. “I’m listening,” he said, wary. He was pretty sure they were talking about Raleigh and Yancy, but there was always the chance they were talking about Yancy and Tendo.

No, probably Yancy and Raleigh. But what the fuck were they going for?

 

“Well, don’t you have questions?” Bruce said.

“Get another perspective on the…”

“Yeah, I can’t think of a good name for them either,” Bruce said.

“Oh my god,” Raleigh said. “Cheech and Chong? Harold and Kumar?”

 

“Uh,” Chuck said. “I’ll have to think on that one.” It would be a little weird to ask questions about Raleigh when he was right there. On the other hand, it might be weirder to do it when he wasn’t.

 

“They’re talking about Tendo and Yancy,” said Raleigh. “Noting the interesting dynamics between you the other day. Probably because-”

“We like you,” said Trevin. “Early impression and all, but…”

 

That gave Chuck more bubbly feelings than he’d ever admit. Not having Tendo’s approval was weirdly offensive to him. It was nice to have Raleigh’s other friends on his side.

“I dunno,” he said. “We were getting along better by the end of the summer, but then I dumped Rals, so it all got fucked up again. But what questions would I have? I don’t know enough about them to know what I’m s’posed to ask.”

 

“Well, just…” Trevin said.

“We thought we would offer,” Bruce said.

“We could have some insight.”

Raleigh shrugged at Chuck as they pulled into the parking lot of the little breakfast place, then kissed his lips. “They think both of them are ridiculous,” he said.

 

“They are ridiculous,” Chuck said. “And it sucks that they seem to think - or, not really, but they blame me like I set out to hurt you with like, malicious intent. But I’ll just have to prove myself again, I reckon.” He frowned. “Can I just buy him more American food? KFC Double Down, or something?”

 

“But, uh, he can get all the stupid food he wants now,” Raleigh said. “Since we’re not at camp anymore.” He slid into the booth so that the twins could sit opposite them and put his hand on Chuck’s thighs. “And I don’t think Yancy is...I don’t know,” Raleigh said. Yancy seemed good with things, but Raleigh hadn’t been able to talk to him, either. “He was around a lot, you know, to see how messed up I was.”

 

Chuck frowned. See, that was the problem - Yancy and Tendo, seeming to think he’d been skipping through fields of daisies while Raleigh cried alone. Like Chuck had any idea at the time what he was getting both of them into.

“Yeah, well,” he said. “Yeah. Here’s something you can answer.” He squeezed Raleigh’s wrist, signaling that this question wasn’t intended for him. “Is this personal, or do they vet everyone he dates? Rals is always acting like they like me fine and they’re just protective, but…” He shrugged.

 

“Yancy is protective,” said Trevin.

“Tendo goes along for the ride,” Bruce added.

“Plus it intensified since you don’t have-” Trevin added.

“Raleigh doesn’t have-”

“The best history, with men,” Trevin finished.

“But definitely protective,” said Bruce.

 

Chuck nodded. He frowned thoughtfully. “Alright,” he said. “That’s something.” He looked down at the menu without seeming to see much of it. “So do I need to do anything in particular to win back their favor, or…? I’m gonna be good to Raleigh, they don’t have to worry about that. Not gonna stop being a - what was it?” He looked at Raleigh, eyebrows raised. “Fucking tool, but they know that about me already.”

 

Raleigh swallowed. Best to tell the truth, though.

“Imighthavecomeupwiththat,” Raleigh said. Trevin closed his eyes and shook his head, and Bruce just sort of smiled. Like this was going to be riveting breakfast entertainment.

 

“Yeah, I know,” Chuck said. “You’re the one that called me that, I seem to recall.” He seemed to be more amused than anything, though. “You gonna tell me they weren’t joining in on the chorus, though?”

 

“They were just trying to help,” Raleigh said. “You know, you go through sadness, to anger, and then…”

“Standard break-up support,” said Trevin, and Bruce nodded his head.

“Some people get more over-zealous than others,” Bruce said.

“You called me raincloudy,” Raleigh said. The twins nodded.

 

“Mako and Newt just…” Chuck said, and shook his head. “I would have come back without them pressuring me. Might not have happened as fast, though.” He fiddled with a packet of sugar.

 

“Well, I would have…” Raleigh began. “But you…” He stopped and looked at Chuck. “Anyway?”

 

“Anyway…?” Chuck said. Was that an invitation to change the subject, or a request for clarity? Raleigh wasn’t always the most transparent with his language.

 

“I mean, it happened, and we’re back together now?” Raleigh said.

 

“Yes, Raleigh,” Chuck said, amused. But he was glad to leave the subject behind as well. “So you’re neuroscience and you’re…?” he said, looking at Trevin and then Bruce respectively.

 

“Political science,” said Bruce.

“Fake science,” said Trevin. “And you’re..?”

 

“Architecture,” Chuck said. “Not science.” A few seconds later, he added, “But I might minor in mechanical engineering, if I’ve got the time in my schedule. Might not.”

 

“That’s ambitious,” said Trevin.

“Not a liberal arts degree,” said Bruce.

“Well, we can’t all be completely useless,” Raleigh said, smiling at their waitress as she brought coffee over. “Man, I can’t wait for waffles, I am hungry.”

“Lots of exertion, lately,” Trevin said. Bruce rolled his eyes.

 

“You better fucking believe it,” Chuck said, leaning back in his chair and smirking. He threw one arm over Raleigh’s shoulders. Anyone who tried to embarrass him about his sex life would soon realize the futility of that act.

In fact… “Actually, mate,” Chuck said, rolling his head on his neck. “I’d suck a dick for a triple-shot latte right now. I’m pretty wiped after last night.”

 

“I don’t think they do that here,” said Bruce.

“Just coffee,” said Trevin.

“We can go to Starbucks after,” Raleigh added, leaning into Chuck’s touch - _Chuck,_ he thought, and he felt his smile widen. The last few minutes had been tense, but...they both seemed to accept that it happened, right? Chuck had lots of sex, and Raleigh sat and cried with Yancy and Tendo and decided Chuck was a fucking toolbag.

 

“You lot have Starbucks on your campus? How mainstream,” Chuck teased, pinching Raleigh’s cheek between his thumb and forefinger lightly. “What kind of hipster school are you?”

 

“We’re not any kind of hipster school,” Raleigh said. “We’re a bunch of fucking spoiled rich kids school and you better bet they are not going to go without Starbucks.” He smiled at Chuck though. He was not bitter about this.

 

“Well, I’m alright with that,” Chuck said. “I’d be down for a latte.” He shrugged. “Guess that’s one good thing about living in a city - variety. Amherst is so small, I bet it starts feeling claustrophobic after a while…”

 

“You have-”

“No idea,” said the Gages.

“It helps having the other four colleges around,” Raleigh said.

“Two with all girls,” said Trevin.

 

Chuck wove his fingers through Raleigh’s damp hair. “Maybe when you visit, I’ll let you leave my bedroom long enough to show you around Boston. Unless - have you been before?”

 

“Um, sort of,” Raleigh said. “Just for a meet. And we went to go and see some history stuff.”

“We took Raleigh on a field trip,” Trevin said.

“Didn’t get a permission slip from Yancy, though,” Bruce said.

 

Chuck laughed. “Somehow, I don’t think he’s too particular about what Rals gets up to. I haven’t taken him skydiving yet, but don’t get comfortable, love, it’s happening.” He grinned like a shark, dimples taking on a certain menace with the amount of teeth he was flashing.

 

Raleigh felt very unsettled. “Um...I…”

“Really?” asked Bruce.

“After the high dive-”

“When you had to be-”

“Yes, great, Chuck knows I don’t like heights,” said Raleigh, waving his hand. “Oh, look, well timed waffles!”

 

Chuck took his arm off of Raleigh to free his hands up for eating. “You managed that cliff, I have hope for you yet.” Granted, there was a marked difference between that tiny cliff and jumping out of an airplane, but Chuck wanted to ease him into the idea.

 

“I suppose,” Raleigh said. “But it was...yes, yes I did that thing.” He poured some syrup on his waffle and then handed it over to Trevin, who doused his waffle with abandon. “They have real maple syrup here. From Canada.” Raleigh ate a bite of his waffle and moaned. “So good, waffles, I love you.”

 

“Jesus, I’m not sure if I should be relieved or jealous that I’ve never made that noise come outta you,” Chuck said, accepting the syrup from Trevin and pouring a modest amount over his waffles.

 

“It’s a foodgasm,” Raleigh said, eating another bite of his waffle.

“And the pizza last night-”

“Was a foodnight stand,” said Trevin.

“And I would say relieved,” Bruce said to Chuck.

“Oh, that is good,” Raleigh said. “Foodnight stand.”

 

Chuck glanced around at their surroundings, then lowered his voice. “Yeah, when you’re sucking me off, I want you to be thinking about eating my cock, not like, bratwurst, Jesus Christ.” That said, he smirked and took a bite - and let out a low, breathy moan, exactly the same one he gave when Raleigh slid into him with that massive dick of his.

 

“See,” Raleigh said. “They are that good.” He beamed at Chuck.

The Gage’s looked at each other, and Raleigh knew what they were thinking. Well, opposites attract. Then one of them nodded.

“Definitely not what we expected,” said Bruce.

“Cute, though,” said Trevin.

 

“Cute?” Chuck said, and looked thoughtful. One could see the gears working in his head. Then he shrugged. “Fair enough. We can’t all have…” He looked down at Raleigh’s lap.

 

“We were doing so well,” said Trevin.

“This is why,” said Raleigh. “I like - but everyone always talks about it and it’s not like I had anything to do with it it just sort of...happened like that!”

 

Chuck did not seem particularly apologetic. He shrugged. “They called me cute,” he said - and yeah, technically only Trevin had, but really it was a they. “If I get called cute, you get brought into it - and it’s not even an insult, mate.”

 

“You are cute!” Raleigh protested, thinking of Chuck with Max - _the best wrinkly boy._

“No matter how much-”

“You try and use the potty-mouth-”

“To obscure it.” The Gages both grinned, pleased with themselves.

 

It seemed to occur to Chuck for the first time that they were being sincere, and weren’t just making fun of him. “I’m not cute,” he said, scowling. “Fuck - you see my biceps, right?” And then he realized that he was kind of, well, proving their point a little, and set his head on the table.

 

“It’s OK,” said Raleigh, and he stroked Chuck’s head slowly.

“Took Raleigh awhile-”

“To come to terms with it too,” finished Trevin.

Bruce reached for his wallet, and Raleigh reached and smacked his hand. “Let me get this, you paid for the pizza.”

 

“But I’m not,” Chuck said, gesturing expansively. “I mean, fuck, I’m from Australia, my favorite thing to do is climb buildings, I have sex all the bloody time - I don’t fucking get it, how am I cute?” He whipped around to glare at Raleigh. “And they haven’t even seen me with Max, or after sex, or high, so that doesn’t count.”

 

“It’s an innate thing,” said Trevin. He shrugged. “The angrier you get…”

“Max?” asked Bruce, as Raleigh counted out his change.

“His bulldog,” said Raleigh. “He is really, really awesome.”

“See?” said Bruce. Trevin nodded, and grinned at Chuck.

 

Chuck tried not to pout, because feeding the fire, and all. “He’s awesome, not adorable. I mean, he’s both, but more awesome.” He scowled. “Aw, fuck off.”

 

“Let’s get you kids home,” said Trevin.

“To the Starbucks,” said Bruce.

“Yes,” said Trevin, and they slid out of the booth, seemingly in unison.

Raleigh lingered for a moment and kissed Chuck on the cheek. “I’m sorry,” he said. “You are ruggedly handsome and, uh, badass.”

 

“Not helping, Becket,” Chuck said, but allowed the kiss without ducking away.

 

“I did try,” Raleigh said, and then he squeezed Chuck’s hand. “Let’s get you that latte.”

 

* * *

 

Raleigh inhaled, preparing himself for this. He’d heard a lot about Hermann, the past week, and he was ready to witness him in person. He wasn’t concerned, especially with Chuck insisting that Hermann loved him already for reigning in Chuck’s behavior and ending the sexiling, which Raleigh understood. It had happened to him a lot freshman year too.

He knocked on the door. “Hello, Chuck?”

 

A few second later, the door opened slightly and a face peered through the crack. The boy, skinny and gangly, hair cut straight across his forehead, did not appear impressed. “Charles is not presently… present. Might I request that you return later, or perhaps contact him on his mobile phone?”

 

That was odd. He had told Chuck he was fifteen minutes away and had just parked, so where would he have gone. “Hello, I’m Raleigh,” he said. “Chuck’s boyfriend? Are you Hermann? He just texted me and told me he was here?”

 

Hermann squinted at him. Then he smiled. “My apologies. I know Charles has been -”

There was a snort from down the hall, and Chuck walked up, a bulging bag slung over his bag. “Christ, Hermo, I was getting my laundry from downstairs, I didn’t leave the country or whatever.” He leaned over and kissed Raleigh lightly. “Hey, love.”

“I have told you not to call me that -”

“And I’ve told you not to call me Charles, so we’re even,” Chuck said, rolling his eyes. He pushed past Hermann into the room. “C’mon in, Rals.”

 

“Thank you,” Raleigh said. This was some serious, Grade A passive aggressiveness going on here, and he was intrigued. He stepped into the room and - holy shit.

Chuck’s side was messy, but primarily near the line of tape. His bed was made, his desk was organized, but he had just left a series of beer cans, dirty clothes, and miscellany near the tape line. Hermann’s side was so neat it looked like it should be a viewbook for cautious parents sending their kids off to college.

Chuck tossed the laundry bag near the line and smiled. Raleigh plopped down on his bed. “So, uh, this is nice?”

 

Hermann gave a sniff.

Out of his eyeline, Chuck rolled his eyes.

“I suppose your returned presence in his life could only address so many issues,” Hermann said, sounding almost sad. “Though I do assure you, I appreciate those of them that -”

“Christ,” Chuck said, which seemed to be how about half of his sentences to Hermann started, “I’m not sucking his bloody cock in front of you, am I? Give it a rest, will you?”

Hermann just sniffed again.

 

Raleigh watched like a tennis match, fascinated and a bit...not really sure what was going on. He felt a bit for Hermann, though. And Chuck. Neither of them had ever been prepared for living with the other. It was like a residential education professional was playing an incredibly cruel and spiteful joke. “So you do...math? Numbers?” Raleigh asked.

There were an awful lot of textbooks in a bookcase near Hermann’s desk.

 

“Applied mathematics,” Hermann said. “With a focus on discrete mathematics and a minor in computer science and engineering.”

“Meanwhile, we are in our first year,” Chuck said, rolling his eyes again. At times, he respected Hermann for knowing exactly what he wanted to do. The rest of the time, it was just obnoxious.

 

“Huh,” said Raleigh, and he considered this. “I know what two of those things are.”

He pressed his lips together, then, because he realized it made him sound amazingly stupid. Though he got the sense Hermann would probably think that of him anyway.

 

Hermann looked at Chuck.

“Humanities major,” Chuck said, nodding. It was the first thing he said to Hermann that didn’t have the edge of condescension to his tone.

“I see,” Hermann said.

 

“Hey!” Raleigh said. He looked between the two of them - might as well extend the moment. “There are plenty of things that I could toss around you wouldn’t know about, too, you know.”

He watched as Chuck put his laundry away, catching one of his t-shirts getting folded and put in his dresser.

 

“I mean, as long as you’re not like, Comparative Media Studies, fuck,” Chuck said, laughing.

“Or Science and Technology in Society.” Hermann snorted.

“Rocks for Jocks,” Chuck added - like he wasn’t a jock himself. At least he was a smart one, though. “But seriously, sweetheart, I’m sure you could remind me of all kinds of interesting dates and facts about, uh, the French Revolution that I’ve forgotten since middle school.”

 

“It’s not dates and facts,” Raleigh said, “but rather a study of the nature of history, and epistemology, ideology, uh...the French Revolution, for example, represents a complete rejection of contemporary European society and an attempt to begin everything from scratch. Failed completely, of course. I, uh, just took a whole class on it last semester. And, uh, History of science and technology.” He winced, slightly.

 

Chuck pursed his lips, clearly thinking. “See, that’s the whole problem - these grand, sweeping survey courses that have to cover so much material they can’t ever go into any depth. You could teach a whole course about - fuck, technology of Hellenistic Egypt, and still not really cover it.”

“But that is a necessary evil of every area of learning,” Hermann said, turning around slightly in his chair. “You cannot ever learn all there is to know about any topic.”

“I know,” Chuck said. “It’s a damn shame. In short, you’re excused, Rals.”

 

“I didn’t know I needed to be excused,” Raleigh said, “but thank you. I appreciate it, I think.” He nodded and looked between Hermann and Chuck, who appeared to have had their only normal conversation ever. “Where are you from, Hermann?”

 

“Germany,” Hermann said.

“I think they stick international kids together, to share experiences, or something,” Chuck said. “Because Germany and Australia have so much in common.” He shook his head. He would be hard-pressed to think of two more dissimilar cultures than Germany and Australia, from what he’d gathered from Newt and Hermann.

 

“Oh! I thought maybe,” Raleigh said, and switched to German, “If you removed the tape I guarantee the mess would go away.” He shrugged. “It’s a spite fence.”

 

“Yes, Newton has said,” Hermann replied, also in German. “But…” He didn’t want to give in, on this one. Then Chuck would expect capitulations on every count, and Hermann would not, could not, do that.

Chuck looked back and forth between them.

 

“Right you do not want to give in because then he will always think you will do so,” Raleigh said. “Just if the mess is that bothersome, that is the best way to get it to go away. Or you find something more awful to do to him and then bargain.” He grinned at Chuck.

 

Hermann frowned. “And what would be the most awful thing to do to him?” He figured Raleigh knew Chuck better than he did. He only knew that Chuck didn’t appreciate being called Charles, but they were already at an impasse on that point.

Chuck sat at the edge of the bed and poked Raleigh’s stomach. “You’re talking about me, aren’t you?”

 

“Why would I do that?” Raleigh asked, and he tried to think. What would annoy Chuck? “Put on some FoxNews on your computer such that he may not turn it off when you are gone?” He’d set his computer to play Kylie Minogue all the time when he was out freshman year. Worked like a charm.

 

Hermann smiled. “I appreciate your assistance on this matter,” he said, and then switched back to English. “Not everything is about you, Charles.”

 

“I just like the opportunity to practice,” Raleigh said, smiling at Chuck. “Don’t get to use it often.”

 

“Newts speaks it too,” Chuck said. “You lot can form a club.” He pouted. “Only don’t.” He already saw Raleigh infrequently enough, he wasn’t sending Raleigh off to join some dumb German club when Raleigh visited.

And then he had to laugh at himself for how seriously he was taking the ridiculous situation he’d invented himself. This was a little sad.

 

“Naw,” Raleigh said, noting the pout. “I would rather spend time with you.” He smiled at him. “Speaking of..? Plans for tonight?”

 

Chuck perked up. “Italian food in the North End for dinner, might be a little bit of a wait in line. Then Modern Pastry for dessert, s’like a block away from there. Then - I mean, there’s live music everywhere, or bars, or…” He looked at Hermann.

Hermann sighed. “Newton has offered use of his couch for the night.” He would, of course, be bringing his own sheets, but this was not exactly out of the norm, after his first month with Chuck. There had been more than a few late night adventures where he sought to find sleeping accommodations for the night after returning home to find that bedamned sock on the door.

 

Raleigh felt for him. “I appreciate it,” he said. “I know...uh, my roommate freshman year had people over a lot and...anyway, really, appreciate it. We could get you a dessert item from the pastry place?” He looked over at Chuck.

 _This is how you make friends,_ he tried to telegraphically signal. _And ensure that your roommate does not stab you in the night. Which happens at MIT more frequently than they let on._

 

“Allergies,” Chuck and Hermann said at the same time.

“Charles is already working towards acquiring his driver’s license,” Hermann said. “And then it will be possible for him to -”

“It’s a work in progress,” Chuck said.

“But the last week of REM sleep I was able to get is reward enough.”

Chuck blushed. He really, really wished people would stop bringing up his sexual history around Raleigh.

 

“Oh, well, alright then,” Raleigh said. He glanced down at the clothes he was wearing. “Should I, er, change, or...is this going to be all right?”

He almost, almost volunteered to take Chuck driving, but then thought better of it. Chuck’s temper and learning to do something like driving? No, no, he was not stupid.

 

“You’re good,” Chuck said. “S’not a very fancy restaurant. I’m probably gonna change into a button-down, but I worked out in this earlier, so…” He went to his closet and pulled off his shirt, tossing it on the floor, right at the line, and then tugged on a plaid, cotton button-down and started to do it up.

 

Raleigh hefted a sigh - a week was a long time, but then again, they were sort of used to it, since it was how often they could get together at camp. He watched, instead, as Chuck carefully did the buttons up on the shirt and thought of how he was going to undo each one later.

“OK, well, that’s good,” he said. “You had practice, or..?”

 

“Yeah, couple hours every weekday and then weight training on weekends,” Chuck said. He turned. “Wanna go now? Give Hermo some time to himself before we commandeer the room?”

Hermann gave an unintelligible grumble of displeasure.

 

“Sure, yes,” Raleigh said. “Nice to meet you, Hermann.” He gave him a little wave before he stepped out the door, following Chuck, and then grabbed at the collar of his shirt and kissed him on the lips in the hallway.

 

Chuck gave a noise of startlement before it softened to a hum. He relaxed into it, winding his arms around Raleigh’s chest and holding him tight. When he pulled away, he was breathing heavily, spots of color high on his cheeks. “Hey to you too,” he said. “What’s this all about?”

 

“Well, I couldn’t kiss you hello, could I?” Raleigh said. “So, that’s all...now let’s eat, yeah? I’m pretty hungry.”

 

Chuck laughed. “You can kiss me in front of him,” he said. “Although he and I both draw the line at dry-humping.” He started to lead Raleigh outside.

 

“That’s a good line,” Raleigh said. “I woke up once, freshman year, to Gardener and some girl - I am pretty sure they were sixty-nining.” He shook his head. That had been disorientating.

 

“Well,” Chuck said, looking up in thought, “that’ll be Plan B, if Gottlieb pulls any more shit.” He looked at Raleigh with a grin, so that Raleigh could be sure he was joking.

 

“Yeah, I’m really not...an exhibitionist?” Raleigh said, not entirely sure Hermann had pulled that much shit, considering. Then he sort of grinned, remembering what he had told him to do. Chuck sort of had it coming, though. Hermann was weird, but not offensively so.

 

“Neither am I, but sacrifices must be… Hang on.” Chuck pulled out his phone. “My old man just texted - what the fuck?” He held up a finger to signal for Raleigh to be quiet as he dialled his father. Once he picked up, Chuck paced and talked, brow furrowed. “What are you doing in Boston? Are you on campus right now?”

 

Raleigh raised his eyebrows - probably into his hairline - not sure how to react to this. On the one hand, Herc seemed to like him. On the other, this sort of put a damper on the whole weekend. On a third, nonexistent hand, was the possibility that Max was accompanying Herc. Raleigh glanced over at Chuck, who was clearly pressed. And that was another consideration.

 

The conversation was brief and didn’t tell Raleigh much, as Chuck spent most of it making noncommittal noises of agreement or comprehension. He hung up and looked at Raleigh. “He’s in town making arrangements for some whole weekend trip for the 14-year-olds next year, I don’t know. Apparently he’s only got time to meet up like, right now. Is that… I can tell him to fuck himself, you know.”

 

“No, it’s good,” said Raleigh. “You don’t need to - I mean, we can have dinner with your dad, right?” He swallowed a little at the whole go himself thing. “I think he likes me? Uh, does he know I’m here?”

 

“He likes you, yeah. Does not know you’re here. Or that we’re together.” Chuck shrugged. “Nothing personal, just - we don’t talk much, me and him.” He hoped Raleigh didn’t overanalyze that.

 

“OK, well…” Raleigh said, considering this. “He’ll know now, eh? Also...does he have Max with him?” Raleigh smiled, hopeful. Dogs diffused loads of awkward situations.

 

Chuck blinked. “Uh, yeah? Where else would he be?” If Max wasn’t with Chuck, he was with Herc. Those were the two options.

He started to lead Raleigh in a different direction, presumably to meet up with Herc.

 

“Kennel?” Raleigh said. People did that with dogs, right? He wished he had a dog. And then a thought occurred to him - a brilliant thought, really. He’d gone through enough shit, he could probably get the therapist he saw at school to give him an emotional support animal. He grinned.

 

“Oh - if he were flying in from Australia, yeah, he’d leave Max with my grandparents. But he’s still wrapping up the camp. Doesn’t fly back to Sydney for another few weeks.” Chuck spotted his father in the distance and look at Raleigh, smiling. “Don’t worry, alright?”

They neared Herc, who gave Raleigh a long, considering look, head tilted to the side.

“Hey boy,” Chuck said to Max, who was straining against the leash, entire body shaking with the force of his tail-wagging. Chuck dropped to his knees, and Herc let go of the leash. Max moved as fast as his stubby legs could carry him, barreling into Chuck, who laughed with delight and kissed his forehead.

 

Raleigh almost waved at Herc, then shoved his hand into his pocket. “Hello, Mr. Hansen,” he said, then watched as Chuck and Max practically rolled on the floor with each other. Sorry, Chuck, he thought. Definitely cute.

“Hey, Max,” he said, bending down himself, and Max looked up from Chuck and then lunged at Raleigh, tail wagging as well. Raleigh had wondered if Max would remember him. “Hey, buddy,” he said, and scrunched his ears as Chuck smiled at him.

 

Chuck rose to his feet, grinning at Herc.

“Dating my son and suddenly I’m Mr. Hansen?” Herc shook his head. “Just call me Herc, Christ.” He eased up the scolding tone of his voice. “But it’s good to see you again, Raleigh.”

Though he hadn’t said anything particularly noteworthy, Chuck frowned a little, shuffling his feet - appearing to hear accusation in his father’s tone that may or may not have really existed.

 

“You too, uh, Herc,” Raleigh said, and smiled at him as he stood and finished petting Max. “And Max, too.” He wondered if Max still had the pig - though, given what Chuck had said about Max, Herc, and squeaky toys, he wouldn’t be surprised if the dog had _lost_ it in the lake.

He glanced over at Chuck, noting his discomfort. Right. And part of him thought, well, Chuck, it was sort of a tool thing to do. People are going to notice that. But he had to put that past him.

 

“Course, that doesn’t mean you’re exempt from mockery over the horrifically dumb things you say in my presence,” Herc said, looking pointedly at Raleigh.

Chuck laughed. He couldn’t exactly defend Raleigh when Raleigh did, in truth, say horrifically dumb things. Did that make him a bad boyfriend?

Max gave a joyful bark, as if joining in.

Chuck shook his head. “We can’t take Max to the restaurant, so I guess I’ll drop him off in my room for a few hours… unless you’ve got a better idea?”

 

Raleigh didn’t know if he was asking him or Herc, but the thought of Hermann and a dog - Hermann very well might flip his shit. “Can’t think of one,” he said. He looked over at Herc. “And that’s understandable.”

He was going to make some comment about being used to it, but that just made him seem like a sad puppy, and he wasn’t. Not anymore, at least.

 

“Um, so you guys - I’ll be right back,” Chuck said, taking Max’s leash and jogging off. Give Raleigh time to get comfortable with Herc, he thought. He didn’t know where that fell on the good boyfriend scale either.

Herc smiled at Raleigh, the smaller and nicer cousin of his usual toothy grin. “So when did this whole -” He waved his hand in the air, “- happen?”

 

“Um,” Raleigh said. “Last weekend,” he said. “Chuck sort of turned up at Amherst.” He figured he would give Chuck credit for the whole thing, though having this conversation was incredibly awkward given that Chuck had provided zero information to his father. But then, that was sort of his fault, wasn’t it? And he’d just left Raleigh here, so. He got to control the narrative, he supposed.

 

Herc nodded, expression sombering. “Yeah, kinda thought he might. Not that my son tells me much,” he said with a grimace, “but he hasn’t looked right, the last few weeks.” He shrugged. “But that’s his own damn fault, so can’t feel too bad for it.”

 

“Well,” Raleigh said again, not really sure what to say to this. It was always good to get confirmation, especially that Chuck had been stupid about things, but… “Well, it was...um, difficult. I’m glad that we’ve resolved...things.” He sort of waved his hand, hoping it communicated that he didn’t really want to touch this with a ten foot pole.

 

Herc took a look at his face and chuckled. “Christ, if Chuck knew I’d put that look on your face, he’d give me a right dressing down. I’m not gonna keep harping on it, you can put those eyes away.” Like a kicked puppy, Jesus. Chuck always had a soft spot for stray dogs, though.

 

“OK,” Raleigh said. “That’s good. It’s not...anyway. You’re in town for camp, then?” At least he could talk about that. It wasn’t fraught with emotion.

 

“Stacker and I were talking about taking the older boys into town for a weekend, letting them run around Boston like lunatics,” Herc said. “Smaller than New York, at least. Less liable to make trouble. Would you or your brother be up for chaperoning?”

 

“Oh, absolutely,” said Raleigh. “Yancy especially - he seems to really like the older campers, working with that age group. I might get a little, uh, nerdy with them. Boston has so much history, things to explore, and I haven’t really had the opportunity to scratch the surface.” He scratched at the back of his neck.

 

Herc grinned. “All the better. This is supposed to be an educational experience for ‘em, not just a chance to try to sneak into the girls’ hotel rooms, as if we can’t hear…” He shook his head.

 

Raleigh nodded his head. This was going well, he thought. “Yeah, with the little ones I’ve missed out on a lot of that. Heard loads about Yance’s experiences, though, either at hotels or with the deer spotlight at socials.”

 

“Yeah, Chuck seemed to enjoy the experience,” Herc said, smiling. “Power-tripping little fucks. S’good though, means I don’t have to do it. How is your brother, anyway?”

 

“Well, he seems to be all right,” Raleigh said. “I mean, he’s well. Hasn’t changed, much, the past month. Enjoying his senior year.” Raleigh nodded at this. Was he, though? Yancy had spent so much time with him, Raleigh didn’t even know what he was up to. He didn’t even know who belonged to the shoes.

 

Herc smiled, a bit nostalgic. “I bet he is. When that kid’s no longer an employee of mine, I have a feeling our conversations will get a lot more interesting.” He shook his head.

 

“That is very possible,” Raleigh said, though he wasn’t sure in what sense Herc meant. Probably the enjoying his senior year part. Oh, Yancy.

 

Chuck jogged back up in time to catch the tail end of the conversation. “Who’re we talking about?”

“Yancy,” Herc said.

“Oh,” Chuck said. “So, the constant pot-smoking, and all.”

Herc groaned. “Congratulations. That’s years of carefully maintained plausible deniability, down the drain.”

Chuck grinned, unrepentant.

 

“You know,” Raleigh said, “I don’t know why everyone...I mean, I know people who do constantly smoke, like, every day. And that’s not at all what Yancy does.” He might as well try and defend his brother, given that Chuck had already decided to just go for broke. “Plausible deniability?” he asked. He had thought Yancy - and Raleigh, too, really - were more careful than that.

 

Chuck laughed. “You really think Stacks would have hired Yancy if anyone believed that about him? It was hyperbolic, we know he’s not…”

“And,” Herc said, cuing for Chuck to continue.

“And,” Chuck said, smirking, “my neurotic father trained Max as a drug-sniffing dog, so believe me, Raleigh. They know.”

 

“Really?” Raleigh said, because this was the sort of thing that people loved to do to him, to fuck with him. Besides, he was also certain that Tendo kept everything in his car, nowhere near the kids. “That’s…”

 

“It was on our clothes after,” Chuck said. “And he was, uh, there, if you recall. So it’s pretty easy for him to cue them.”

“Plausible deniability, Chuck,” Herc said. He nodded at Raleigh. “But yes, seriously.”

Chuck shrugged. “Dogs are - they can sniff out individual scents when we can’t even… Anyway, I’m willing to bet every time you’ve come back in the last couple years, Max has known. Sorry.” He shrugged again.

 

“Wow,” Raleigh said, and wheels were literally turning in his head. “They can smell seizures, too, you know. Up to thirty minutes before they occur, get their person to a safe spot. If you had epilepsy, you could have Max as a service dog.” He nodded his head.

 

Chuck shrugged. “I guess?” Then the light bulb seemed to go on. He turned to Herc.

“No,” Herc said.

“But -“

“No.”

Chuck pouted. “You just want to keep him to yourself.”

Herc nodded. “Not denying that. Are we going to dinner or not?”

“Yeah,” Chuck said, leading them to the T-stop.

 

“There are,” Raleigh said, also thinking out loud, “emotional support animals. Have you heard about this? Reasonable people get dogs, but there are emotional support ducks, turtles…” He walked behind Chuck and Herc, not really sure what to do.

 

Chuck turned halfway back and took Raleigh’s hand, tugging him forward so they were next to each other. He left their fingers linked together.

“Monkeys,” Chuck said. “For super fucking rich people.”

 

“Yes, absolutely,” said Raleigh. “You can get them to do other things, too, but they’re more difficult. They get snippy. Might bite you. I’m actually surprised more people at school haven’t tried to take advantage of it. We’ve got loads of super fucking rich people.”

 

Chuck nodded. “Maybe people don’t know about it - and it’s a lot of commitment, taking care of an animal. It’s a mutual relationship. Little bastards probably aren’t up for it.”

Herc laughed. “Some little bastards seem to think they are even when they’re not.”

“I was eight! And that damn goldfish probably would have died with or without me involved.” Chuck shook his head. “I was damn good to Max when you finally agreed, you gotta admit.”

“No, that’s true,” Herc said.

 

Raleigh sighed. He’d had a fish, once. “I had a fish,” he said. “Yancy pulled off its fins because he wanted to see what would happen.” He nodded his head. “It died. Used as justification for why I could never get a dog.”

 

“That’s incredibly creepy,” Chuck said, shooting him a wary look.

“Yeah, I’d say that’s more justification for why Yancy should never have a child,” Herc added.

Chuck shook his head. “I overfed mine because I was a twit, but that’s… a little psychopathic. No offense.”

 

“I don’t think he’s like, drowned kittens or anything since,” Raleigh said. “I’d always figured it was, like, normal bratty older brother curiosity.” He shrugged his shoulders, considering this. “He was three and a half?”

He didn’t know if that helped or not. “You’re never going to let him near Max again, are you?”

 

“Nope,” Chuck said.

Herc rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. “Not that this means anything, necessarily, but I’m pretty sure Jeffrey Dahmer started killing small animals when he was a toddler.”

“He’s the necrophiliac cannibal pedophile serial killer, yeah?” Chuck said.

Herc nodded.

 

They were fucking with him. “I think intent is important, though,” Raleigh said. “Yancy was just curious. Most psychopaths, they aim to harm and hurt. I mean, like I said, he was really little. He didn’t necessarily understand...the animal killing psychopaths, they do that in their teens.” He paused for a moment. “Though it is concerning, given Yance’s predilection for necrophilia.” He sighed.

 

Chuck laughed. “That’s definitely concerning.” He squeezed Raleigh’s hand, hoping that he knew Chuck and Herc were joking about Yancy. “S’probably a good thing he’s not in biology, then? You know, all those corpses for dissection…”

“Too far, Chuck,” Herc groaned.

Chuck grinned. “What? He’s gotta get used to my sense of humor sometime.”

 

Raleigh squeezed back - this was so easy. It probably helped he knew Herc. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like stepping into this blind.

“I don’t think they let undergrads dissect human corpses,” Raleigh said, then frowned. “Oh. _Chuck._ Too far.”

 

“Hey mate, you’re the one making jokes about predilection for necrophilia,” Chuck said. “I just took it in its logical progression.” He swiped his CharlieCard over the scanner and stepped through the turnstile into the subway stop, then handed it back for Raleigh and Herc to do the same.

“It’s a fair point,” Herc said.

 

“I think you both started it,” Raleigh replied, narrowing his eyes at Chuck. Herc and Chuck had sort of a rhythm, and it wasn’t one that Raleigh naturally fell into. “Or I did, with the fish story, which was really just to...I’d like a dog, is all,” he said, finally.

 

Chuck kissed his cheek in apology. “Sorry for turning your cute wish for a pet into a joke about your brother fucking corpses, love,” he said.

“Never heard that one before,” Herc said. It was a vague statement, Chuck thought - was he referencing the long-winded and utterly insincere apology, or just the fact that Chuck had called Raleigh ‘love’? He decided it was the former.

 

“That’s all right,” Raleigh said, and he glanced at Herc, trying to catch his eye. He was pretty sure he knew what Herc meant by that statement, but it had completely flown over Chuck’s head. Oh, wombat, he thought. “It happens - is that our train? car?”

 

Herc met his eyes behind Chuck’s head, grinning. _Good for you, Becket_ , he seemed to be saying.

“Yeah,” Chuck said, stepping into the train car. He looked at Raleigh as he sat down. “Was that purely a hypothetical, though, or are you actually considering getting a service dog?”

 

“Uh…” Raleigh said. “I could probably convince them to let me have one, but it wouldn’t be a good idea. Tendo would probably try to get it stoned, or something. It will have to wait.” It was the responsible thing to do, he supposed, and it would be horrifying soon - out on his own, some apartment, some job… he sort of shuddered.

 

“S’probably better that way,” Herc said. “I want my kid to actually pass his classes, which he wouldn’t do if he spent every waking moment at Amherst cooing over your puppy.”

Chuck did not deny this, but he did scowl. He _probably_ wouldn’t skip classes to go visit Raleigh’s dog.

 

“Hell, I wouldn’t pass my classes,” Raleigh said. He reached for Chuck’s hand again and gripped it tightly as the train moved. He had never been on the T before and looked around, taking things in. It sort of made him feel like a bit of a yokel - like when he’d first got to Amherst. Good thing he’d had Yancy.

 

Chuck looked at him and smiled. “Wait til we go over the bridge,” he said. “Whole city’s laid out for you. S’beautiful at sunset.”

 

It was, Chuck was right, and Raleigh grinned at the sight. He’d never seen Boston like this, and it was incredibly romantic, Chuck standing beside him and holding his hand. Raleigh rested his head on Chuck’s shoulder - and then remembered that he was standing there with Chuck and Chuck’s father. Right.

 

Chuck chuckled and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Can’t wait to get you alone tonight,” he whispered in Raleigh’s ear, and nipped lightly at the earlobe with his teeth.

 

Raleigh nodded his head, suppressing the groan that he wanted to issue. Chuck was just being fucking cruel, now. Because he could. “Mmm, me too,” he said.

 

Chuck looked at Herc. “So everything sorted out for next summer?”

“I’m discussing it with museum directors over the next few days,” Herc said. “I was s’posed to have a dinner meeting tonight with the MFA lady, but she had to cancel, so I figured I’d give you a call.”

Chuck nodded. He’d been wondering why Herc had given him such short notice.

“How’re your classes, anyway?” Herc asked.

“Good,” Chuck said, yawning. He was still catching up on all the sleep he’d missed. “‘m already loaded with course work, but… good.”

Herc frowned. “Don’t overwork yourself. You need time for other things in your schedule - time to relax, decompress.”

“I know, I know,” Chuck said, rolling his eyes. “Christ, he should give that speech to my roommate, yeah?” He looked at Raleigh.

 

“He is a little, uh, tightly wound,” Raleigh said. “And he appears to be studying...everything? Theoretical and applied mathematics and chemical engineering or something? And I thought that I was overworking myself by picking up a second major.” Oops, he thought, as soon as the words had left his mouth.

 

“Applied math with a focus on discrete, and comp sci as a double.” Chuck snorted. Hermann always made it sound so much more pompous and grand than it was. “And you didn’t tell me you’d picked up a second major…?”

 

“Yeah, um, well, it turns out I’m just classes from one, so why not?” Raleigh said. “It’s in, uh, gender and sexuality studies.” He gave Chuck a big smile. Bring it on, Hansen, he thought.

 

“Oh yeah,” Chuck said, swiping his tongue over his lower lip. “Last I heard of it, you were minoring.” He stretched. “You told me when you were ragging on me for calling myself a slut.”

Herc shook his head. “You shouldn’t, uh, call yourself that, so…” He kind of wished this conversation wasn’t happening in his earshot.

 

“Right,” Raleigh said. “Well, my advisor said I should go for it, though it’s probably not something that…some people might not respond well to it on a resume, but I guess I don’t want to work for them anyway.” He did his best to change the conversation, since Herc looked pretty aggrieved.

 

“Don’t see how it’s any worse than any other liberal arts major,” Chuck said, amused at the play of panic over Herc’s face, and the subtler anxiety over needing to make everyone happy on Raleigh’s. This could be fun.

 

“Well, I think history is a pretty common major,” Raleigh said. “But gender and sexuality studies sort of, um, just kind of says... _gay?_ ”

 

“Oh.” Chuck frowned. “Then yeah, you wouldn’t want to work for a homophobe in the first place.” He carefully kept his face straight as he added, “If people can’t handle the fact that I really like to suck cock, well…”

Herc’s lips tightened.

“‘cause I really like to suck cock,” Chuck said. Don’t smirk, don’t smirk.

 

“Right,” said Raleigh. “So - oh, isn’t that our restaurant! I am really excited to eat. Quite hungry.” He nodded and looked at Herc, wanting him to know that...well, he wasn’t responsible for Chuck either. He didn’t know why he thought this was appropriate, or a good idea, or…

 

“Chuck, go get us a table,” Herc said.

Chuck rolled his eyes and walked up to the maitre-d.

“He’s a smart kid but I never know whether to give him a hug or a kick in the arse,” Herc said in an undertone to Raleigh. “Sorry for getting you caught up in the middle of it, mate.”

 

“Yeeah,” Raleigh said. “I understand that feeling. I don’t think you got me caught up in it, though. Sort of did that to myself.” He winced slightly at Herc and then smiled at him.

 

Herc frowned. “Is he like that with you when I’m not there?” His voice dipped low and disapproving. “He likes to challenge me, and I - that’s understandable, I deserve it. But he shouldn’t be a little fuck to you for shits and giggles.”

 

“Um, he’s not a little fuck, no,” said Raleigh. “Well, sometimes with Yancy. But...that’s complicated. Mostly just standard ribbing and stuff, and he’s actually usually really...nice.” Not really - well, Chuck nice. Adorable angry koala nice.

 

“Yeah, s’what I thought,” Herc said, smiling. He looked over at Chuck, who looked back at them while talking to the maitre-d, and smiled at Raleigh, reflexive and immediate.

After another minute of conversation, Chuck gestured them over and the maitre-d led them to a table in the back. “So it works kind of weird - we don’t order, ‘cause there’s a set three courses, so we just order the meal as a whole. Best Italian food I’ve ever had.” He looked back and forth between them. “I’m going to assume you two were extolling my virtues and leave it at that, alright?” Because it was too early in the night to get pissy, and he was hungry.

 

“Sounds good,” said Raleigh. “I’m really hungry as well - especially for some good food. Kind of sick of dining hall stuff and…cereal. And beer. That is a meal, right?” He smiled at Chuck, wanted to tell him that it wasn’t anything. If Raleigh had - well.

Actually, maybe that explained why his relationship with Yancy was so weird and tense.

 

“It is liquid bread,” Chuck said. “You guys can get wine if you want, but they card here, and also wine is disgusting.”

“American drinking laws,” Herc said, shaking his head.

“Right?” Chuck said. He also shook his head - they looked uncannily similar for a moment.

 

Raleigh looked between the two of them, as though witnessing who Chuck would be in 20 years. Or who Herc had been. “Um, I like wine with a meal - not sure what you like, Herc, but…”

 

“Don’t drink a lot of wine, so I couldn’t say,” Herc shrugged. “Whatever the waiter recommends, then. Or you can order for both of us.”

“I didn’t try wine growing up for a reason,” Chuck said. “Aussie men are beer drinkers.”

Herc shrugged.

 

“Oh, I didn’t really start drinking it until I turned twenty-one,” Raleigh said. “We, uh, went on a wine tasting weekend in the Finger Lakes and I got into it then. Nice with a meal. But if you want a beer...I can just get a glass.” Raleigh smiled.

 

“Nah, I wouldn’t mind drinking it with dinner. And neither of us is driving, so…” Herc said.

Chuck remembered what Raleigh was like wine-drunk, and smiled. “Seriously,” he said, biting his lip. “You two should get a bottle of wine.” He nudged Raleigh under the table.

 

“OK, can I look?” Raleigh asked, and perused the wine list, looking for something that would be palatable to someone who wasn’t a big wine drinker. “Would you like white or red, Herc?” he said, narrowing down his choices.

 

Herc looked at Chuck, who shrugged. “White?” Herc said.

“Fuck if I know,” Chuck said.

“White,” Herc said, more firmly.

 

“Excellent,” Raleigh said, and then their waiter came over, as if sensing it. “We would like a bottle of the German Riesling, please, for the two of us, and he would like a Shirley Temple.” He smiled at Chuck, hoping he got the joke.

 

“Oh, you fucker,” Chuck said, narrowing his eyes at Raleigh, but he was smiling.

“If I could just see your IDs…?” the waiter said, directed at both Herc and Raleigh.

Herc dug his ID out of his wallet. That’s another American thing he didn’t understand - _clearly_ he was over 21. But they seemed to like playing it safe with their insane drinking laws.

 

Raleigh handed his ID at well and gave the waiter the same stupid smile he had made in his driver’s license. They had told him to smile, after all.

 

“The fact that you ever questioned the puppy label is beyond me,” Chuck said, setting his chin in his hand.

Herc snorted. “Hell, I thought you’d get along for years before you met, just because of that.”

Chuck looked at Herc. “Really?”

He nodded.

 

“Would you mind elaborating on that..?” Raleigh asked, because he was curious. He still really didn’t get the puppy thing - he was an adult, after all. With a very impressive cock. And very impressive swim muscles, apparently.

 

Herc looked a little cornered. He glanced back and forth between them. “Well, Chuck needs someone a little… easy-going, because…”

“Not the easiest person to get along with,” Chuck nodded. It wasn’t exactly a surprise to him, and yet, people always tiptoed around the issue as if he would take offense. Bizarre.

“Nice and generous, adventurous, loyal…” Herc said. “And with you in particular, you’re practically a composite of the boys he used to bring home to work on, uh, projects in his room. Definitely his type. Only… better.” He was blushing at the end of that - how to tell his son’s boyfriend that he was the finest piece of ass Chuck had ever scored?

Chuck pressed his lips together tight, trying not to laugh. This was better than anything he could have imagined.

 

“I see,” said Raleigh. “Thank you. And nice, generous, adventurous, loyal - that is, like, a Golden Retriever, isn’t it? I should really just accept it.” He was relieved when the wine was brought over.

The waiter went through the whole presentation, giving Raleigh a little bit to sip. “Yes, lovely,” he said, smiling again, and then he poured generous glasses for Herc and Raleigh before handing Chuck his Shirley Temple.

“What do you think?” Raleigh asked Herc, after he took a sip. It was pretty sweet - perfect for someone not familiar with wine.

 

Herc swirled his glass then took a swallow. “Yeah, it’s good,” he said.

Chuck nudged Raleigh’s shoulder. “S’not like you whip out your snark and dick jokes in front of the dads. Believe me, those aren’t the words anyone our age would use to describe you.” He paused. “Well, yeah, but not _only_.”

Herc snorted. “Exhibit A - that drink you’ve got in front of you.”

Chuck looked at it, lip curling. “Exactly.” But he smiled at Raleigh, eyes amused.

 

“I am not entirely sure what you mean by Exhibit A,” Raleigh said, and he took a very long swig of his wine as he considered the Hansen’s. They were sort of paneling him. “Um, but sometimes things go over my head.”

He had never met someone’s dad before, he realized, even with all of the puppy comments. Kirk had said he would introduce Raleigh when his parents came to get him for Thanksgiving, but that never happened.

Doesn’t matter, he told himself. He was here now.

 

“Exhibit A, proof that you’ve got wit and you’re not, like, boring and lame,” Chuck said. He ran his fingers through Raleigh’s hair, ruffling it up. “You are some kind of sweetheart, though.”

“Very,” Herc said. “So kind, always trying to be such a good boyfriend.”

“Dad…?” Chuck said, wondering where Herc was going with that.

Herc smirked. “Trying to introduce Chuck to new experiences… like, say, hot dogs… by the lake…”

Chuck laughed, covering his mouth with his hand.

 

“That was not one of my finer moments,” Raleigh admitted. “I, uh...was trying not to say things. So something incredibly stupid came out.” He looked between the two of them.

Definitely not a typical relationship - and, really, he didn’t know anything about their relationship other than it was not good. Chuck hadn’t said anything. Raleigh pressed his lips together.

 

Herc looked at Raleigh, then at Chuck. He raised an eyebrow. Chuck nodded.

“Bathroom,” was all Herc said, standing up.

Chuck watched him walk away. Then he turned to Raleigh. “I didn’t even say anything about the wilderness…?” he said uncertainly.

 

“What wilderness?” Raleigh said, also not sure what he was getting at. “Herc asked what we did in Lake Placid and I was trying to imply Yancy was there too and then he wasn’t and...I couldn’t say, oh, we...fucked. A lot. Could I?”

 

“That’d be weird, yeah,” Chuck said, though it kind of sounded like something he himself would do. “But nah, I meant, like… You got a weird look on your face, like the one you got at that restaurant with Yancy and Alona. And, uh, I didn’t bring up the wilderness.”

 

“Oh, I guess, it just occurred to me...you guys are like, you have sort of a banter-thing and it’s probably not typical, but I wouldn’t know? And it’s not like you are going to meet - uh, you just met my Yancy.” Raleigh looked down at his lap and then took a long sip of his wine again. “That’s all.”

 

Chuck took a drink of Shirley Temple to give himself time to think. He frowned. “I think I’m drawn to people with fucked-up family dynamics. Mako might be the most normal one I know, yeah. I, uh, I dunno, why would I care about being normal? Seems… overrated.”

 

“I think...I think so,” Raleigh said. “I think a lot of the reason I’ve been able to, um, accomplish what I have. Gave me drive.” He nodded his head. “But I was thinking, um...it might be the reason you and Yancy have a weird thing. He’s like my dad-brother.”

 

Chuck made a face. “Christ, and I thought my father sucked at it.” He shrugged. “I reckon me and Yancy have a weird thing because he’s a fuckwit, but maybe you’re right, who cares.”

He didn’t think it really mattered much why he and Yancy were weird with each other. They were both fuckwits, they were both stubborn, what more was there to talk about?

 

Raleigh considered Chuck’s reaction - he was just trying to be helpful, not imply there was something Chuck needed to do. Oh well.

“Also possible,” said Raleigh, and then he smiled when Herc returned from the washroom. Well timed, since the waiter was coming with their first course.

 

“Wedding soup,” the waiter said, laying wide-brimmed bowls of soup out in front of them.

Chuck flashed him a smile, sipping from his Shirley Temple as the waiter left.

“So how’s the swimming going, Raleigh?” Herc asked. “You keep in shape this summer?”

 

“Oh, yes, I think so,” Raleigh said. “I took a good chunk off my IM time, and my butterfly. Freestyle, only a little bit - but I’m on track for nationals in the first two, so. And the freestyle doesn’t matter - we have two guys really strong in it. Chuck actually met them - the Gages.”

 

Chuck stirred his soup as he waited for it to cool. “How do you train at camp? Or were you just keeping up your cardio and then training for real once you got back home?”

 

“I was...swimming,” Raleigh said. “Like, doing laps when I didn’t have lessons. And I got up and ran in the mornings. And was working on my, uh...flexibility. Stretching.”

 

Don’t smirk, don’t smirk, don’t smirk, Chuck told himself.

Herc either didn’t notice Chuck’s expression, or deliberately ignored it. “So you and these Gages are going to nationals? That’d be the medley, yeah? But you need someone to take breaststroke and backstroke, then.”

 

“Oh, well...I do the fly, Trevin does the free, and Bruce actually does the backstroke. We’ve got a great breaststroker, Paul...I don’t know if our medley will make it, actually.” Raleigh frowned. “We’re probably more likely to get there as individuals this year, unless one of the freshman pulls through. Which would be nice. For the twins, since it’s their last year.”

 

“Also, they don’t count as separate people,” Chuck added. “They meld into one giant psychic manbeast, which is how they’re so strong in freestyle.”

 

“They don’t swim together, though,” said Raleigh. “They swim separate relay legs. Against each other, sometimes. But, uh, giant psychic manbeast?”

 

“Raleigh,” Chuck said, affecting a tone of exaggerated patience. “You’re really trying to tell me they don’t think with one mind? I’ve heard them talk.”

 

“Yes, it is possible that they do have some sort of odd psychic connection,” Raleigh said. “I guess I just thought you were implying they were going to merge into a sort of single, manbeast entity.”

 

“Oh, that is what I meant,” Chuck said. “That’s exactly what I meant. You know, like Captain Planet. Ring powers combine.”

Herc apparently didn’t get the reference, blinking at him. But Chuck knew Raleigh did, from when Mako had brought it up when they were smoking pot.

 

“If they have those powers I have not seen it,” Raleigh said. “And it’s more useful to have two of them, anyway.” He grinned at Chuck, remembering when they had smoked pot. Even if it had ended with Chuck vomiting, it had been one of his favorite days. _You are the best wrinkly boy._

He looked at Herc. “They sort of finish each other’s sentences.”

 

“They share a brain,” Chuck corrected. “Magic powers.” He considered this. “Devil powers. They sold their souls to Satan.”

“I’m sure,” Herc said.

 

“By finish each other’s sentences, it’s more like...they break it into two and talk?” Raleigh said. “But they’re very nice! Um. They sort of took me under their wing when I was a freshman. Gave me all these really vague talks about drug use I didn’t understand until Trevin had enough and was like, _your brother is a massive stoner, Rals!”_ Was he going somewhere with that? He wasn’t sure.

 

Herc chuckled. “They sound like good boys.”

“They are,” Chuck said, strangely abrupt - and strangely intent, as well. “They’re really…” He blushed at his own sincerity, chugging from his Shirley Temple to keep his mouth busy.

 

“They’re nice,” said Raleigh. He leaned in, conspiratorially, towards Herc - Chuck had played this game with him, right? “They think Chuck is really cute.” He rubbed his foot against Chuck’s under the table and set his soup aside, bowl pretty much cleaned out.

 

Chuck scowled. “They didn’t say that,” he said, which was a bald-faced lie, but still.

Herc raised an eyebrow. “Did they see his computer desktop?”

“Dad!” Chuck said, a whine in his voice.

 

“What is it?” Raleigh asked, because he had not seen the computer desktop and the sound that Chuck made was - he had to know.

 

“Really, Becket?” Herc said, shaking his head. “If you had one guess…”

“Daaaad,” Chuck said again, drawing it out this time.

 

“Well, it’s obviously Max,” said Raleigh. “But is it, like, a particularly embarrassing picture? A puppy picture?”

 

“Pom pom hat,” Herc said, as Chuck lunged over and tried to clap a hand over his mouth.

“Dad!” Chuck said for the third time. “I’m never letting you two in the same room again.”

 

“Aw,” said Raleigh, trying to determine who was wearing the pom pom hat. It didn’t matter, really. “Adorable. See. Max is adorable.” He resisted the urge to pinch Chuck in the cheek, or something.

The waiter arrived before Chuck could really react with plates heaped with pasta.

 

Chuck settled back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest. He might have pouted, but the food distracted him. He picked up his fork and shot them both dirty looks over the table. “I’m gonna ditch both of you and go get dessert by myself, and I’m not gonna feel bad about it at all.”

 

“Well, if you must,” Raleigh said. “I guess we can go back and play with Max.” He twirled his fork over the pasta and made a small moaning sound when he took his first bite. Definite foodgasm.

 

“I’ll text Hermann and tell him someone sneezed on both of you, so he won’t let you in,” Chuck said. He bit his lip when Raleigh moaned, abruptly glad that his father was there because it provided additional incentive not to throw himself off the table and kiss Raleigh senseless.

“That’s an elaborate plan,” Herc said.

“Germaphobe doesn’t even begin to cover it.”

 

“Really?” Raleigh asked. “That’s...that is extreme. No wonder the debris on that tape line bothers him so much.” He shook his head. One of them was going to end up killing each other.

 

“Tape line?” Herc said.

“You don’t even want to know,” Chuck said, waving his fork. He took a bite and understood why Raleigh was making those noises, because Christ.

“I kind of do,” Herc said.

Chuck shrugged.

 

“Hermann thinks Chuck is a bit messy - and, really, Hermann would think a container store was messy - so he sort of taped a line down the room to divide it. So Chuck’s stuff wouldn’t get on his stuff.” Literally his stuff, Raleigh thought.

 

“And my stuff has not gotten on his stuff. So I’m a good roommate.” Chuck grinned. “That’s how it works, right?”

“You are such an only child,” Herc said. “I made you into this, didn’t I?”

For once, Chuck didn’t seem to take it the wrong way. Just smirked and said, “Totally your fault.”

 

“It’s sort of a stereotype, isn’t it?” Raleigh asked. “Every freshman roommate horror story.” He shuddered, slightly, remembering his own experience. “I had a few of my own but no tape down the room.”

 

“Just because your roommate wanted to be able to abuse your shit, I thought,” Chuck said. “Be hard to leave gross crew Spandex on your bed if there were a tape line.”

“Uh huh.” Herc said.

“But he’s not terrible, seriously.” Chuck took a bite. “We’re getting along better since you and I hooked up and I stopped -“

“Chuck,” Herc said.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Chuck said.

 

“Well, that’s good to hear,” said Raleigh. “Because it is really hellish when you don’t, uh, get along. It escalates.” Oops again, Raleigh thought, since he’d suggested something along those lines to Hermann. Nothing like how things had gone with Gardener, though.

 

Chuck shook his head. “I’m not trying to start anything,” he said, an insistent note in his voice. “I reckon we’re at an impasse, no reason things would suddenly escalate. I’m behaving myself and he’s making an effort to not freak out over the little things.”

“You’re behaving yourself?” Herc snorted. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“You’re so original,” Chuck said. “No really, you come up with that one by yourself?”

Herc took a bite and shook his head, clearly disbelieving.

 

Shit, Raleigh thought. On the other hand, he did not believe that Chuck had accidentally thrown a used condom in Hermann’s shoe.

“Hermann’s not the hardest guy to get along with,” Raleigh said. “He’s not a douchebag or anything, you know? Just give him his space to do his math and keep the ruckus down and I think he’ll be OK...still, it kind of seems like the whole thing is some joke that res-ed is playing on both of you.”

 

Chuck nodded. “Probably looked at our home countries and thought, let’s put a German and an Aussie together - most neurotic and most laid-back countries, instant comedy.”

“That sounds likely,” Herc said.

“No but seriously, they’re probably filming us for some dumb reality show,” Chuck said, waving his fork.

 

“I wouldn’t doubt it at all,” said Raleigh. “I think they’re all slightly sadistic, though. Who gets into res-ed as a career? Like, I was some poor hoser from Alaska and they decide I should room with some kid who gets $1500 a month from his parents for _little extras._ Probably because we’re both athletes, or something.”

 

“Wouldn’t doubt it,” said Herc.

“Say hoser again, I like the way your voice goes all Canadiany,” Chuck said.

 

“Some poor hoser from Alaska, eh?” Raleigh said, and grinned. “Gotta put my toque on, go out and about to get a two-four so we can watch the Habs game, eh?”

 

“That’s actually kind of hot,” Chuck said, fascinated.

“Say ‘sorry,’ give ‘im a thrill,” Herc said. He shook his head for what felt like the hundredth time since starting the meal. The only thing more aggravating than Chuck in a bad mood was Chuck in a _good_ mood. The snark was unending.

 

“Chuck, you know, awful sorry for how that turned out,” Raleigh said, and then filled his wine glass and Herc’s wine glass. “I don’t think Canadiany is a word, either. But at least I don’t sound like Sarah Palin.”

 

“Who?” Chuck said.

“She can see Russia from her house,” Herc said.

“Not actually helpful, thanks.” Chuck looked to Raleigh for answers.

 

“So, a long, long time ago in 2008 someone decided that this completely bugfuck crazy governor that we had would be a suitable vice presidential candidate. She said she could see Russia from her house and also talked about shooting wolves out of helicopters,” Raleigh said. “Tina Fey impersonated her on SNL?”

 

Chuck shrugged. “I can tell you, mate, I wasn’t paying much attention to American politics in 2008. All I know is, Obama won.”

“We Aussies barely even care about our own politics,” Herc added.

Chuck nodded. “I guess she didn’t win, then?”

 

“Well, the Vice President runs with the President, so, no,” said Raleigh. “Obama’s vice president is kind of bugfuck crazy, too, but in a...much less frightening way, somehow.” Raleigh nodded, considering this. “Unfortunately Alaska is sort of full of crazy people and Republicans, though.”

 

“And cute, dumb swimmers and their cute, dumb stoner brothers,” Chuck said. He leaned back as the waiter set the final course out in front of them.

“Swordfish a la Sicilian,” he said, and drew away.

 

Raleigh looked at the fish. He’d never had swordfish before, but...well, first time for everything. “Yeah, but we’re not really from there? Just sort of ended up there...mum was French, and dad was from New York, and we lived all over, like, Budapest, Berlin, Bamberg, also in Germany, uh, Aarhus, in Denmark...then Washington state and Alaska.”

 

“It’s good - not very fishy, like tuna,” Herc said, seeing the way Raleigh eyed his food.

Chuck poked at the fish, frowning. He’d been a few places around Europe and the United States, but most of his childhood he’d spent in Sydney, waiting for his father to come home from yet another trip. Every bloody weekend, practically. Military consultants didn’t seem to have a lot of free time to spend with their families - or maybe it was Herc. Maybe he just hadn’t wanted to. Maybe Chuck reminded him too much of the wife he’d lost.

“Chuck…” Herc said, recognizing the look on Chuck’s face.

“Whatever,” Chuck said, stabbing a bite of fish and stuffing it into his mouth.

Herc sighed.

 

Raleigh caught Herc’s expression first and knew...he’d stepped on a landmine, there, and not even an unmarked one.

Raleigh looked over at Chuck and pressed his lips together, pretty sure what was going through Chuck’s head. “They, uh, weren’t around much at all, though, my parents...both of them were engineers. Lots of babysitters and nannies.” He glanced over at Chuck and then reached and put his hand on his thigh.

 

Chuck hummed noncommittally. “Must’ve been nice to have Yancy, then,” he said, and took another large bite. The sneer in his voice could be easily heard. _Don’t compare yourself to me_ , it said. _You were nothing like me_.

“Chuck,” Herc said, a warning.

 

“Um, yes,” said Raleigh. He wasn’t sure what to do - he decided against saying more, though, and cut up his fish carefully and then put some into his mouth. He’d sort of seen this side of Chuck before, but this was different. Daddy issues, which, well, he could see why it would lead to that kind of thick fury.

He took another very long drink from his wine.

 

Chuck took another bite, then grabbed Raleigh’s wine and took a healthy swallow. He stood. “I’m gonna…” he said, and walked towards the bathroom, hands shoved deep in his pockets.

Herc rubbed his temples, elbows on the table.

 

“Um, I’m really sorry,” Raleigh said. “I didn’t mean to...ruin the meal, or...um.” He looked down at his hands.

 

“Not on you,” Herc said. He picked up his glass of wine and swirled it, staring down into it. “You can’t police yourself for - he does this, sometimes. S’hard to guess when.”

 

“Yeah, I know,” Raleigh said. “Sometimes something makes me think about...mum and dad, and...you can never really know.” He ate some more of his fish. “Should I, uh, let him…” he waved his hand, “or wait for him to come back?”

 

Herc shrugged. “He never seems to appreciate when I - but you might be different, I dunno. I say let him have a minute. He doesn’t wanna fuck this up with you, he’s working hard to behave.” He smiled, wry and small. “In case you haven’t noticed.”

 

“Yeah, he’s been really...sweet,” Raleigh said, “I can tell that he doesn’t want to after he already-” Herc didn’t need to hear about that. Chuck was his kid, after all.

 

Herc seemed to understand what Raleigh wasn’t saying, and he nodded. “It’s hard for him, though. I reckon he thinks he’s gotta be on his best behavior with you, or you’ll, you know.” He thought about this. “Best behavior for Chuck is relative.”

 

“I won’t, though,” Raleigh said. “I mean, when I met him he was…” He smiled, thinking of how brash Chuck had been and how stupid Raleigh had been, trying to talk to him. “Anyway,” he said and took another large bite from his fish.

 

“He’s a right wanker,” Herc said. He didn’t look at Raleigh, eyes focused on his plate as he continued, “and that’s run him into trouble before. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt for him to know, you know…”

But subtly, hopefully. Raleigh shouldn’t just walk up to Chuck and say ‘it’s okay that you’re a fucking tool.’ Hopefully the little bastard could figure it out.

 

“Right,” Raleigh said. “I, um...usually completely fail at that sort of thing, but…” He shrugged his shoulders. He’d think about it. He took another long sip from his wine. He was going to be intoxicated when he stood up.

 

Herc smiled. “That doesn’t surprise me much,” he said, just as Chuck walked up behind him.

Chuck slid back into his seat. His expression wasn’t happy, exactly, but the raw anger had eased, and the tense furrow of his brow had relaxed. He flashed a brief half-smile at Raleigh.

“When’s your fall break, Raleigh?” Chuck asked, licking the sauce off the end of his fork.

 

“Columbus day weekend,” Raleigh said. “We get Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday off - what about you?” He was relieved to see that Chuck had done whatever he needed to do. And he understood. Sometimes he felt anger, too, maybe not that intense. His feelings still ran towards sadness, sometimes deep and consuming.

 

“Same,” Chuck said. “You know yet what you’re doing?”

 

“No,” said Raleigh. “We don’t have practice, since we’re off season...they let us off. I haven’t really thought about it.”

 

“You should roadtrip up to Maine with me,” Chuck said. “We could stop on the way up for maple syrup festivals, and see the leaves changing, and pick apples…” _Take the bait, take the bait_ , he thought.

 

“I would really like that,” Raleigh said. It sounded really great. Leaves, maple syrup, apples, wholesome New England - _fuck,_ he thought.

 

“And then skydiving!” Chuck said, grinning. “Thanks, love, so kind of you to agree.” He leaned across the table and brushed a kiss over Raleigh’s cheek.

“Not into heights, huh?” Herc said.

 

“Um,” said Raleigh, and then he shook his head. “But I...I will do this thing.” He smiled at Chuck. Dickhead. And Raleigh had fallen right into it. He leaned over and kissed Chuck back. “I’ll get you for that,” he whispered.

 

“Looking forward to it,” Chuck murmured back. He squeezed Raleigh’s hand under the table. “My father always told me to face my fears,” he said louder.

 

Raleigh squeezed back. He was going to have not drink liquids for days or he was going to piss his pants. “Yes,” he said. “That is important, I guess - I jumped off the cliff.”

 

“And that is totally comparable in scope to skydiving,” Chuck said, nodding solemnly. “Nothing to worry about, yeah?” He couldn’t keep his eyes from twinkling, though, which ruined the serious expression he was aiming for.

 

“No, nothing to worry about at all,” said Raleigh. “I am sure it will be amazing.” He nodded solemnly as well. “C’mon, aren’t you afraid of anything?” He figured with Herc here he might stand a chance - though Herc might play it closer to his chest, after Chuck had to gone to the bathroom like that.

 

Chuck drummed his fingers on the table. “Uh… I’m not a big fan of spiders, but I’m not really scared of ‘em either. Same with crocs, but I haven’t seen a lot of them around here. Don’t much like…” He blinked hard, then looked out the window, the tapping of his fingers reaching a frenetic, almost frenzied pace.

Herc widened his eyes and shook his head at Raleigh. He didn’t actually know what Chuck had been about to say, but he knew that drawing it out of Chuck here, in public, in front of Herc, would be a very, _very_ bad idea.

 

“I don’t really think crocodiles are a problem in Boston,” said Raleigh. “You made a good choice, geographically, there.” He nodded his head at Herc, grateful for the assist there - even though he could sense, himself, that Chuck was uncomfortable.

 

“Yeah, I was deciding between MIT and the University of Cameroon, and the lack of crocs really sealed the deal for me,” Chuck said, regaining composure. “I hear there are alligators in the sewers of New York though.” He smirked.

 

“I think that is an urban legend,” Raleigh said. “Although it would not surprise me if it were true. I have seen a rat there that was very, very large.” He grinned. “Yancy screamed like a girl.”

 

Chuck laughed, shaking his head. “Rats are his thing, huh? He’d be okay in Australia then, not a lot of rodents. Just - everything else.”

“Literally.” Herc said. “Everything.”

 

“Yes, I have heard that everything in Australia wants to kill you,” said Raleigh. “Thought Max seems fairly benign.” He ate the last piece of his swordfish and smiled.

 

“S’all a clever ruse,” Herc said.

“He could kill you in twelve different ways,” Chuck said.

Herc nodded slowly.

 

“I will definitely keep that in mind,” Raleigh said, and slid his plate away from him. He took the last sip from his wine and smiled. “That was fucking delicious.”

 

Chuck grinned, pleased to have impressed Raleigh. “Hope you’re not too full for dessert.”

Herc groaned.

“That wasn’t even innuendo!” Chuck said. “Dirty mind, Jesus.”

 

“No, I - I could definitely do dessert,” Raleigh said, smiling slightly.

 

Chuck flagged over the waiter and started to dig out his wallet.

“Son, don’t even,” Herc said. He glared at Chuck as he pulled out his own credit card.

“Fair enough,” Chuck said, taking his hand out of his pocket.

 

“Thank you very much, Herc,” Raleigh said. He swallowed slightly - the meal was probably expensive, what with a whole bottle of wine and everything.

 

“Think of it as paying you back for all the money you spent on hotel rooms this summer,” Chuck said.

Herc kicked him under the table.

“Hotel rooms for everyone, Dad, Jesus,” Chuck said, smirking.

 

“But you gave me money for those hotel rooms,” Raleigh said, frowning. He looked between Chuck and Herc and realized what was going on. “Ah.” He blushed, and then sighed.

 

Chuck snickered, but didn’t push the subject. He stood and stretched once the bill had been paid, pulling down his shirt where it had ridden up on his hips.

“Nice shirt,” Herc said, noticing it for the first time. It wasn’t often he saw Chuck in a button-down.

Chuck looked down. He shrugged. “Need to look pretty for my boy so he doesn’t regret driving all the way here to see me,” he said.

 

“I wouldn’t care what you wore,” Raleigh said, though Chuck did look nice. “Thought you do look very pretty. I appreciate it.”

 

“Anytime, sweetheart,” Chuck said, kissing his cheek before leading them out.


	15. Chapter 15

Chuck heard the murmur of activity and excitement before he saw it, and he groaned as they neared the pack of students gathered outside his dorm. “Fucking hell,” he said, “Newt figured out Max can do tricks, didn’t he.”

When they got close enough, Hermann stood from his seat apart from the pack and limped over. “I tried to stop him, but he was adamant that you would not be upset by his abduction of your dog.”

“It’s good,” Chuck said. He peered over the crowd. “Crap, he found a ball. S’all over now.” Max could bounce a rubber ball on his nose for a pretty long time. Girls loved it. Chuck wasn’t above using that to his advantage.

 

“Max does tricks?” Raleigh asked, trying to squirm in to get a view of what was going on. This was a fantastic development. He had thought Max was just adorable and lumpy, content to squeak his pig toy and get cuddles. “How come I never saw his tricks?” He pouted, slightly.

 

“Max,” Chuck called, but the sound was lost in the din. “Max!” He pursed his lips, then put his fingers to his teeth and let out a piercing whistle that carried easily.

A few seconds later, Max had wriggled his way through the crowd and was on a collision course for Chuck’s knees, if Chuck hadn’t dropped down and opened his arms to catch him. He let Max lick his face for a minute before looking up at Hermann with a broad, dimpled grin.

“S’nice of you to stay with him, you didn’t have to do that.” He rubbed Max’s chin. “Thanks.”

Hermann looked pleased, with a quiet sort of surprise. “Yes, of course,” he said.

 

Raleigh looked between the two of them - this appeared to be progress. There was truth to the whole therapy dog thing, probably. He sat down next to Hermann and rubbed at Max’s ears. The dog issued a low, contented grumble and then crawled into Raleigh’s lap slightly to lick his face.

Then Raleigh looked up at the crowd around them, who seemed disappointed that they had taken the dog back from them. “Hello,” he said, amicably.

 

“You can’t just steal my dog, Newt,” Chuck said in the general direction of Newt. “But, uh -” He whispered something to Max and pointed, and Max trotted off to go retrieve the ball. Chuck took it from his mouth and threw it, and Max lumbered after it, tongue lolling out of his mouth with a blissed-out expression on his face.

Chuck stood. “Go crazy,” he said to the gathered people, and went to sit on a bench, gesturing for Raleigh to join him.

Newt came and sat next to him. “I wasn’t gonna do anything,” he said. “Just -”

“You can’t just steal my dog,” Chuck said, rolling his eyes.

 

“He’s used to it,” Raleigh said, sitting down next to Chuck. “Everyone tries to steal Max. Some people have more, uh, elaborate plots than others. And more successful plots than others.” He wondered if Herc had ever told Chuck about that.

 

“Max is the best, and everyone wants him.” Chuck said it so matter-of-factly. “And yeah, he does tricks. I don’t show ‘em off because he’s not a bloody show pony, but he knows a few.”

Newt leaned over Chuck to address Raleigh. “Did you ever steal Max?”

 

“I attempted to, once, while stoned,” said Raleigh. “But Chuck yelled at me. And he said he would give him to me, but...he didn’t really mean it.” Raleigh narrowed his eyes. “Mako stole him, though. It was after a social at camp last year - she took him back over to girls camp with her. Herc made us all search the woods for an hour, convinced he’d been eaten by the bear, until someone called over from girls camp. They were all sitting around in a circle fighting over who got to pet him.”

 

Chuck looked at him, frowning. “He never told me that story,” he said. He shook his head. “I’ve been too nice to Mako - she acts so bloody sweet, but… Devil woman.”

 

“She just loves him,” said Raleigh. He sighed as Max played with his ball, a girl throwing it for him and Max contentedly retrieving it. “She is very cunning, though. Smart. It’s why she was the only one to successfully pull it off.”

 

“Mate, I love him, but you can just pick him up and walk off with him and he won’t do anything. He has no standards. Any random shithead can just rub his belly and he’ll do tricks for him,” Chuck said.

“Hey!” Newt said, recognizing this for the insult it was meant to be.

Chuck smirked, then said to Raleigh, “He’s smarter than he looks, but that’s not saying much. He _can_ sniff out drugs, though, we weren’t lying about that.”

 

“I didn’t mean on Max’s end,” Raleigh said. “Normally your dad is really careful about where he is, at camp, especially after he thought that bear ate him. Which was a different time. Mako somehow managed to slip past him, though.” Raleigh paused. “He never did tricks for me.”

 

“Max is pretty tough. ‘m not saying he could take down a bear, but he’s tough.” Chuck rubbed his jaw. “He fought off a dingo, once. Couple years back, when I was camping with him. Runs like a rabbit if he sees spiders, though.” His voice was fond. “Wussy little bastard.”

 

“That’s really adorable,” Raleigh said. “The bear hadn’t gone anywhere near Max, he had just gone off after a rabbit or something…Max might have been able to take him. It was a baby bear.” It was pretty cute that they were both afraid of spiders. Or maybe that was just transference.

 

Chuck nodded. “He did tell me that story. And, uh, did you ever try to get him to do tricks?” He looked over, eyebrows raised. He’d never seen Raleigh attempt any, so it wasn’t a surprise that he hadn’t seen them.

 

“No,” Raleigh said. “But...I don’t know what tricks he does, so how am I supposed to ask him to do anything? All I ever saw him do was squeak the pig and drool.”

 

“Well…” Chuck shrugged. “If you never tried, can’t really blame him for not showing them off.”

Newt nodded. “I just ran through a list, tried all the ones I could think of. I like how he doesn’t know the basic ones like ‘sit’ and ‘speak’ but you can get him to roll over and turn around in a circle.”

Chuck laughed. “Those are boring. I wanted to have fun with it,” he said.

 

“I don’t understand dogs,” Raleigh said, carefully. He shrugged his shoulders while Max demonstrated his spinning skills for one of the other girls in the circle.

He turned his head, slightly - there were an awful lot of girls around. Because girls liked dogs, right? Right.

 

“I would love to have a dog I could really train,” Chuck said, a bit wistful. “I love Max, but he’s a brawler. Be great to have a collie, or German Shepherd, or cattle dog.” His eyes widened as he realized what he was saying, and he added, “I mean, in addition to Max, not like, instead of him.”

 

“Labradors and golden retrievers are supposed to be the easiest to train,” said Newt.

“Don’t,” Raleigh said. “Don’t even.” He did his best to glare at Chuck, but suspected it was probably as successful as all his other attempts at glaring.

 

Chuck covered his mouth with his hand, though it did nothing to contain the laughter that shook his shoulders.

“What?” Newt said, looking back and forth between them.

“Nothing,” Chuck said, shaking his head, still chuckling. “I don’t need another golden retriever, is all.” He ruffled Raleigh’s hair.

 

Raleigh rolled his eyes and smiled at Newt. “I have been told,” he said, as Chuck started laughing again, “that I am like a puppy. Or am a puppy. Or a dog. You know, loyal, adventurous, nice and generous.”

 

“Oh.” Newt squinted at him. “Yeah, I can see that.”

“I still don’t get why - um,” Chuck said, and stood up. “I’ll be right back.” He walked forward, intercepting a girl who’d been walking towards them, catching her outside of Raleigh’s and Newt’s earshot. He slipped his hands in his pockets, rocking back on his heels as he talked to her.

Newt winced. Couldn’t blame her, really - they looked like any three guys hanging out, nothing indicating anyone’s dicks would be in anyone else’s mouth in the very near future. Or ass, or hand, or whatever.

He coughed. “So, um. Awkward, huh?”

 

“Why?” Raleigh asked, and then looked at the girl and at how tense Chuck’s shoulders were, the awkward way that he had his hands jammed in his pockets and was rocking on his feet. He couldn’t see what Chuck was saying but the girl was getting more animated - and Raleigh couldn’t tell if she was pissed off or flirting or both. “Um,” he said.

And he felt a surge of...he’d never done anything like this before, but instinct sort of took over and he stood up, walked over to Chuck, and wrapped his arm around his waist. Whatever. Chuck had been handsy with him at Amherst, too. “Hey,” he said. “Everything OK?” He grinned at the girl, who was… probably hot. She certainly had her tits out, at least.

 

Chuck gave a jolt of surprise when Raleigh touched him out of nowhere before he relaxed into it. “Christ,” he said under his breath, then, louder, “Uh, Laura, this is m’boyfriend, Raleigh.”

“Oh!” She looked at Raleigh, lips parted in shock. Then back at Chuck, seeming to ask with her lifted eyebrow, _should I lie_?

“No, it’s - we were, uh, on a break?” Chuck scratched his neck. “It’s fine, he’s cool about it. But yeah, I guess I’m… off the market?” What a dumb phrase. He wasn’t a bloody hunk of meat, and he wasn’t for sale, but… Seemed to be the most concise way of putting it.

“Ok,” Laura said, and smiled, though it was small and uncertain. “Um, it’s nice to meet you, Raleigh? I’ll just…” She pointed over her shoulder and backed out of the conversation.

Chuck couldn’t blame her. If he had that option, he would have taken it too.

 

“Sorry,” Raleigh said. “She just looked...kind of pissed off? I thought maybe you’d welcome the, uh, assist?” Goddamnit, he thought. If you’re going to act like a caveman, have the balls to carry it the whole way. Toss him over your shoulder, shout _mine!_ and drag him off for sex.

He pulled his hand away from Chuck’s waist and put his hands in his pocket.

 

“It’s okay,” Chuck said, though he wasn’t entirely sure it was. It’d be hypocritical to have a problem with that, with the way he’d acted at Amherst, but - felt like there was a difference, somehow. Maybe just that…

At Amherst, he’d been the target of those accusatory stares. Felt like he was already on the defensive from the get-go. He wasn’t sure what Raleigh was defending against here.

He turned and looked up at Raleigh, a strange blend of amusement, confusion, and irritation in his expression. “You know I would have taken care of that, right? I was gonna tell her anyway.”

 

“Yeah,” Raleigh said. “I do. I just...I don’t know.” Decided to piss on you and claim you as my own? “Might not have thought that through as much as I should have.” He glanced down. “She just looked really flirty.” And the tits. There were an awful lot of tits.

 

Chuck thawed. Couldn’t stay mad at that face. Damn devil powers, Raleigh had. He tipped Raleigh’s face up with two fingers under his chin, kissing him - and if a few of the girls stared and whispered among themselves, he hoped Raleigh didn’t notice. “Yeah, I get it.” He smiled wryly. “Shockingly enough, I can get pretty possessive too.”

 

“Noo,” Raleigh said, grinning back at Chuck. “I never have noticed that and I never would have guessed that. Especially - Newt is trying to steal Max,” he said, and pointed. Newt had Max in his arms, Max’s legs dangling at an awkward angle, and was headed away from the gathering.

 

Chuck’s head whipped around. “Son of a -” he said, and started to chase after him - but turned to say, “But, uh, we’re not done here, by the way,” before sprinting after Newt, who thankfully couldn’t move very fast with a very roly-poly bulldog in his arms.

 

 _Oh, shit,_ Raleigh thought, because he thought they were done here. Chuck had kissed him, and sort of made a joke, Raleigh had made a joke, and… was what he did really so wrong? Or not necessarily wrong, but wouldn’t Chuck have done the same thing? He saw a girl checking him out and licked his neck, for fuck’s sake.

He sighed. He was still a little drunk from the wine and had wanted...horny drunk wine sex. Looks like that wasn’t going to happen, though.

 

Interestingly, Chuck returned without Max, and shook his head when he walked up to Raleigh. “He’ll meet us for breakfast tomorrow, return him then. Pointed out that we might want the night - I’ve just got the one room, so…” He shrugged. “Little bastard’s not wrong.”

 

“Oh, that’s a good point,” said Raleigh. He hadn’t even considered that. “Well, I am sure they will have a nice time getting to know one another.” Newt, Hermann and Max, he thought, and shook his head.

 

Chuck laughed, picturing it. “What I’d give to be a fly on the wall,” he said, leading them up to his dorm room. He reached out and took Raleigh’s hand as they walked.

 

Raleigh squeezed his hand back and gave him a slight smile, though he still felt nervous about Chuck’s comment. He followed Chuck into the room and then raised his eyebrows at Chuck, bracing for impact.

 

Chuck led him to his bed and sat him down on it, standing between his legs. He set his hands on Raleigh’s shoulders. “I’m only gonna ask you this once, and I’m gonna trust you no matter what you say. But Raleigh, I need to know.” He squeezed down. “I’ve never seen you like that before, and I’ve gotta figure… Are you actually okay with me having fucked other people?” Specifically in the month-long period they were split up, but the rest of his slut phase counted too.

That wasn’t the behavior of someone who was comfortable with their boyfriend being an enormous slut - or whatever politically correct term Raleigh had for it, with his gender studies.

 

Raleigh met Chuck’s eyes and sighed. “Um, generally, I honestly don’t care,” he said. “It’s just…” He wanted to phrase this right, so he bit at his lower lip slightly. “I really am OK with it. And if it were someone from before we’d met, I don’t think I would care, just...it’s a little different when it’s right there in front of you, you know?” He met Chuck’s eyes again, wondering if that was enough of an explanation. Something told him no, but he didn’t want to say the wrong thing, here.

 _So stupid,_ he thought. You should have just sat there and let her...whatever she was going to do. Of course Chuck would have handled it.

 

Chuck drew away, frowning. He leaned against his desk and crossed his arms over his chest. “I just… I need to know that this isn’t going to fester, you know? I fucked a lot of people.” He said it plainly, no shame, no reservation. “And if that’s going to become an issue, you need to tell me, instead of letting me think everything’s okay and then expecting me to somehow know.”

 _Projecting, you’re projecting_ , he thought. This wasn’t Raleigh’s problem, Raleigh didn’t have a history of this. But Chuck had never been in a relationship where this _didn’t_ become a problem at some point, no matter how ‘okay with it’ all his girlfriends and boyfriends claimed to be.

 

“I know you’ve fucked a lot of people,” Raleigh said. “I really don’t care...I...just, that was one who you fucked between me and, uh, me, if that makes sense, and she had her tits out and was flirting and I just thought...like, _mine._ Like how you licked my neck. I just didn’t want - I don’t know,” he said. “She just seemed so...tits.”

 

“That’s not why I licked your neck,” Chuck said in a detached murmur, so distant it wasn’t clear that he was aware he had spoken. He shook his head. “I hate to tell you, every girl I’ve fucked has had tits. And for some reason, they still exist, and many of them will be looking for second rounds. You gonna - piss on me every time they do? And then tell me - oh, but I’m okay with it? I’m not sure I buy it.” He raised his eyebrows.

 

“I’m not doing it because - I’m not allowed to be jealous?” Raleigh asked. “And...I mean, I don’t know, it’s kind of intimidating, you know? Or...aaah,” he said, so frustrated, because they were not talking about the same thing at all - they were each coming at this with very different issues behind their actions. “Then why did you lick me, anyway, when that girl was checking me out?”

 

Chuck waved his hand, impatient. “We’ll get back to that,” he said, because he wanted to clear the air of this issue once and for all. “I guess I’m confused, then. When you say you don’t care - I reckon jealousy counts as caring, but that’s clearly not part of your definition. Fine, whatever, I can get past that. I just need to know - is this gonna be something you resent me for? When Laura, and Isabelle, and Markella, and Lena, and Jessie - when they all come up to me and pretty much beg for my dick, you’re not gonna start to hate me for it, eventually?”

 

“No,” said Raleigh. Though there were several things there that he found - beg for my dick? Yeah, Chuck was good at sex, but...he pushed that aside. Also, those were all girls. “No, I’m not. We weren’t dating then, I don’t care what you did. But we are now, and it just…” He waved his hand. “Hell, I didn’t even know if you knew her. I just saw her flirting with you.”

 

Chuck couldn’t comprehend how Raleigh’s mind worked - and it was weird, because usually he was the irrational one. But it didn’t make sense to him. How could Raleigh claim that he didn’t care that Chuck fucked a girl, and then get weirdly jealous of that same girl, in one breath? Jealousy must have meant something different to Raleigh, he thought.

But he had said that he was going to trust Raleigh’s answer at face value no matter what it was, and dammit, but he was sticking to that. If Raleigh said he didn’t care, then he didn’t care. It wasn’t Chuck’s job to analyze the sincerity of that. He’d done his part.

 

“If some guy came up and just started flirting with me, you wouldn’t get…” Raleigh looked at Chuck, “possessive, or jealous? Or want to let them know, sorry, this one’s mine?” He was careful not to bring exes into it at all, trying to illustrate his point.

 

Well, yeah, but…

Okay, Chuck was starting to get his point. “So you’re saying,” he said slowly, working this out in his mind, “you’d have gotten jealous regardless of who it was flirting with me, and whether I’d fucked them before or not. Because it’s the fact that they’re flirting with me now that matters, not the fact that we screwed then.”

 

“Yes!” Raleigh said, though this appeared to be progress. Which was a good thing. “Like the licking thing, or whatever.” He hoped, at least. Or whatever. He didn’t care why Chuck had licked him, at this point, he really didn’t want to be doing this.

Though it was going to have to happen at some point - and Chuck clearly had some issues with the whole slut thing. Raleigh was willing to bet it had been a point of consternation in past relationships. Just like...well. He sighed.

 

“Christ, that’s not why I licked you,” Chuck said tightly, growing increasingly irritated. It wasn’t as obvious as Raleigh was making it out to be, and he didn’t like being made to feel slow and stupid just because it had taken him some time to figure out. He didn’t just invent this whole resentment thing on the fly, other girlfriends and boyfriends definitely had some fucking problems with his many sexual encounters. Other people weren’t like Raleigh.

It wasn’t fair. Chuck was trying to preventatively solve future problems in their relationship - was trying to fix them before they happened, and Raleigh was acting like he was some kind of dumbass for even worrying about it. Fuck him. He turned his face away, scowling darkly. _Fuck him_.

 

“OK,” Raleigh said, and he closed his eyes, because he had - _welp, fucked that one up again, dumbass._ “Look, I’m not…” He was about to say something and stopped, because it sounded condescending. “You’re obviously worried about it and so I shouldn’t have been so...to act like it wasn’t a legitimate thing to worry about, and...fuck,” he said, and just put his head in his hands. He should just stop talking. “I’m such a fucking idiot.”

 

Chuck took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. He turned towards his desk, away from Raleigh, and set his splayed hands on the surface.

“I licked you,” he said quietly, “because that girl was looking at me the way Tendo was looking at me - the way every fucking person on your swim team was looking at me. Like, _nice job fucking up, you asshole, can’t wait to see it happen again_ \- because it’s going to, they know it, I’m going to, I’m gonna fuck this up, and - and I wanted to prove, like, you picked me. You wanted me even though I’d fucked it up, and even though everyone knows I’m gonna… But you picked _me_.” He bowed his head.

Fuck, he sounded half-hysterical. What kind of blithering imbecile was he?

 

“Of course I picked you,” Raleigh said. He wanted to assure Chuck that that was not what everyone was thinking - Tenley was definitely perving on him, as was her history - but now was not the time. “And I don’t care what everyone thinks, I care about what I know about you and how much I-” He stopped himself. “How much I like you, and...I didn’t realize that was what was going on at all,” he said. “Tenley’s been after me since she was in my orientation group freshman year, so I just assumed that she was…Chuck. Of course I want you.”

He wondered if he should stand up and touch him, considering last time it had blown up in his face. He figured he’d try half way - so he stood, and headed towards Chuck, but cautious, though trying to signal that if Chuck was OK with it then…

 

Chuck turned to face him. He wore a smile, but it was humorless, almost malformed. He didn’t know how to speak his thoughts ( _It’s not an of course, Raleigh_ , and _from the beginning everyone’s just been waiting for it to implode_ and _I care what everyone thinks_ ) without sounding like a huge fucking wuss, so he just shook his head.

“You’re too optimistic,” he said, reaching out to tug Raleigh in by the hem of his shirt. “But… hell, maybe I could use some of that.”

 

“Maybe,” Raleigh said. He didn’t really like the smile on Chuck’s face, how oddly contorted it was. “But then you’d…” He tried to think about what Herc had said earlier, about telling Chuck he liked that he was… “You wouldn’t be you, who I like very much. I liked you from the first time I saw you on that boat, and then even more when I tried to talk to you and was a complete failure at it, and…” He shrugged his shoulders.

 

Chuck laughed, and if it was small, at least it was genuine. He tangled his fingers in the fabric of Raleigh’s shirt. “Yeah, that was a pretty poor showing.” He pulled Raleigh closer. “But I wasn’t making it easy for you, in your defense. Course, you didn’t really get any better at flirting, but, A for effort?”

 

“I was trying,” Raleigh said. “I really wanted you to...I still do, Chuck, I like everything about you and…I’m sorry I fucked up, and…” He wanted to address the thing about people thinking Chuck was going to fuck up again, but he wasn’t sure how.

 

Chuck shook his head. “You didn’t fuck anything up, Jesus.” He rubbed his eyes. “And you don’t like everything about me, don’t even - that’s just creating unhealthy standards that I can’t fucking live up to. You’re allowed to not like things about me.” He moved forward, tucking himself under Raleigh’s chin, arms tight around his torso.

 

“I like the whole Chuck package,” Raleigh said. He rubbed slow, smooth circles at Chuck’s back. “I like how you make me feel...and, you know, not everyone thinks that...Bruce and Trevin like you, and-” he wasn’t exactly sure how to phrase this, “-Paul was like, you guys looked so natural together, I see why you were sad about not having him.” He sighed. “And I’m not saying this to be, uh, condescending or whatever, but, it’s different contexts, you’re just meeting people and I’ve got friends, so…” He kissed the top of Chuck’s head.

 

The weird thing was, Chuck wasn’t normally insecure. Not even about fucking up with Raleigh, because he wasn’t convinced that breaking up had been so irrational and cruel, not when it had been his choice to make for his own happiness. But something about the way other people looked at him brought all the anxiety bubbling to the surface, and Raleigh didn’t really get that.

Still, it was nice to hear that he had some support from Raleigh’s friends. He nodded, tipping his head up to kiss the underside of Raleigh’s jaw. The conversation itself wasn’t getting him horny, but he was ready for some fantastically slow sex where Raleigh lavished attention on him and basically worshipped him with hands and teeth and tongue. Only he didn’t want to say that, so he hooked his fingers in Raleigh’s belt loops and waited for him to figure it out himself.

Raleigh may have been a bit on the obtuse side about other things, but sex he usually got.

 

“Mmmm,” Raleigh murmured, and turned Chuck’s jaw so he could kiss his mouth, slow and long, relieved because he could do this better than he could talk. He tangled his tongue in with Chuck’s and ran his fingers through his hair. He trailed his other hand down to Chuck’s ass and cupped it there, moaning a little bit into Chuck’s mouth.

Then he put a hand to Chuck’s chest and undid some of the buttons on his shirt, pressing a little closer into him and trailing his mouth down his neck.

 

Chuck had to be thankful, actually, for how in tune with Chuck’s sex drive Raleigh was. He hoisted himself up so he was sitting on the desk and wrapped his legs around Raleigh’s waist, cradling him tight and snug between his thighs. “Yeah, shit, make it last,” he said, as Raleigh sucked a mark in his neck - though not too high up, because Chuck wasn’t that showy.

He pressed his own lips to Raleigh’s neck when he had the chance, and murmured against the skin, almost too softly to be heard, “I really don’t want to fuck this up.”

 

“I don’t want to either, love,” Raleigh said, and slowly moved back up Chuck’s neck to his mouth again, taking the kiss slow, languid and soft, before he slid his tongue into his mouth. He put his hands on either side of Chuck’s hips and gripped them, ran his hands down his strong legs.

He wondered if he could pick Chuck up - probably best not to attempt that, and, instead, he slid back and undid some of the buttons on his shirt before he sat down on the bed and smiled at Chuck. He wanted to take him in, his hair mussed and the mark on his neck, the way his legs were spread.

 

Chuck gave a breathy laugh, leaning back on his elbows so his half-undone shirt was pulled taut over his chest. He rucked up his shirt with his hand, spreading his fingers out over the bare skin of his lower belly, and let his legs fall into a wider sprawl.

“You want a picture?” he asked, meaning it. “Something to remember me by?”

 

“No, I just like...you look so good,” Raleigh said, and he took his shirt off and leaned back so that Chuck could get a view, if he wanted - he seemed to really like looking at Raleigh’s body, so. “Come here?” he said, giving Chuck a sly smile, and then he pressed his palm against his cock and ground his hand, hard.

 

“Fuuuck,” Chuck groaned, moving toward Raleigh like he was being dragged on a leash. He practically fell onto him, pushing him onto his back and climbing up to straddle his thighs. He finished unbuttoning his own shirt, then Raleigh’s, and sat back on his haunches to appreciate the view.

“No pressure, but if you ever decided to film yourself jacking off, I wouldn’t mind.” He said it lightly, wanting Raleigh to know that it was like, 90% a joke.

 

‘Yeah?” Raleigh said, and he leaned back farther, placing his back against the wall. He put his hand down his khakis and rubbed at his cock, aching for the touch. “Like this?” he asked, and then used his other hand to slid his pants and boxer briefs down. He kicked at them, a bit, and Chuck pulled them the rest of the way off. Raleigh wrapped his hand around himself and stroked, slowly, held Chuck’s gaze as he did it. “You want to see me like this?”

 

Chuck wasn’t often stunned into silence, but right then, he was rendered literally speechless with want. He chewed on his lower lip, eyes dark and yet feverishly bright at the same time. Unzipping his own slacks, he slid his hand down the v of his zipper to wrap around his cock. “Fuck, yeah. First time I jacked off thinking about you, this was what I pictured.” He traced his hand down Raleigh’s abs. “Don’t think I gave you enough credit in my mental image, though.” But like, how could he have seen that coming, right?

 

“Mmm, me too,” Raleigh said, sliding his hand against himself a little faster. “In the shower, at night, thinking about how fucking broad you are, what your chest would look like, your cock…” He licked at his lower lip and moaned, slightly. “Thought about you on top of me, fucking me, how good it would feel…”

 

“Fuck, yeah, wanted to see your face when you had my cock in you, the way you would moan for me,” Chuck said. He wormed his pants down around his thighs to free up his cock, twisting his hand over the head - and then pulled his pants off entirely so he could settle against Raleigh, pressing their cocks together. And oh shit, that was nice. Hot and silky and hard, and he wrapped his hand around both of them. “Can we - like this? Just wanna watch you lose it.”

 

“Fuck, yeah,” Raleigh said. “Just get some…” he reached and grabbed, guessing Chuck would have some in his bedside table drawer. He squirted it into Chuck’s hand and then leaned back as Chuck very slowly moved his hand over both of them. “I didn’t think you would be like this,” he murmured, and ran his hand through Chuck’s chest hair. “You know how hot that was, seeing that? Didn’t know I could want you more…”

 

Chuck cocked his head to the side, curling his hand over both their heads and rubbing them together, moaning at the play of sensation over his hypersensitive foreskin. The addition of lube made things even better, slick and good. “Didn’t think I would… have body hair?” he asked, confused.

 

“Oh, I knew you would, just not this...hot,” Raleigh, and leaned forward so he could rub and then twist Chuck’s nipple. He moaned as Chuck’s cock rubbed against his, the smooth, silky feel of it against his own. “It just...guh,” Raleigh said, as Chuck rubbed his sensitive tip. “Fuck, that’s so good, Chuck, make me feel so good.”

 

Chuck laughed, the sound hoarse, almost gravely. “God, when’s the last time I… I feel like it’s my first time again, trading handjobs in the back of my old man’s Jeep.” Slight editorializing, but ‘the back of a car’ sounded better and less slutty than ‘the back of a movie theater.’

He grinned, leaning down to nuzzle Raleigh’s neck, tracing the faded hickeys from last week with his tongue. Being with Raleigh felt so carefree and easy, no bullshit posturing or trying to impress him. Just the simple pleasure of touch, with his ridiculous puppy of a boyfriend.

 

Raleigh grinned back and began to work his hips against Chuck. “I know,” he said. “I never did that, though, but...this feels so good, Chuck,” he said. He grabbed onto Chuck’s shirt and tugged him a little closer, wanted Chuck on top of him.

There was a slight melancholy, though, because he could tell Chuck was sensitive about the whole slut thing - something was lurking there that hadn’t been resolved. He pushed it aside, though, and moaned as Chuck’s hand worked him a little bit faster. “So gorgeous, Chuck.”

 

“You’re telling me that?” Chuck murmured, because - Christ, Raleigh’s face, when his lips were all slack and his eyelashes fluttered from the overload of sensation. Hands down the hottest person Chuck had ever seen in real life, and he wasn’t saying that just because Raleigh was his stupidly cute, almost unbelievably sweet boyfriend.

He rested his weight over Raleigh, which had the effect of trapping their cocks between their pelvises a bit, though he had just enough room to work his hand. Also gave him the position to kiss Raleigh, biting at his lips, messy and breathless and fun.

 

Raleigh kissed Chuck back. “Love you on top of me,” he said, voice husky when Chuck slid his lips to his neck. “Love how big you are,” he said. “How good you feel.” He was such a stereotype. He didn’t care. Chuck’s cock felt amazing against his and his hand was stroking harder. “You are gorgeous,” he said, and kissed Chuck’s plump lips. He looked so good like this, long eyelashes hooded over those pretty, strange light green eyes. “God you feel so good Chuck.”

 

Chuck laughed with amusement and joy and sheer delight. Raleigh’s penchant of narrating how good he felt was… funny, but also sweet. It made it so Chuck never worried about disappointing him, because Raleigh kept him well-informed on how well he was doing.

And his voice - Raleigh could have been reading a phone book and it still would have sent shivers down Chuck’s spine. Low and husky, honeyed whiskey over gravel… Which sounded weird and didn’t do his tone justice, but Chuck couldn’t think of a better way to describe it when his mind was clouded and hazy with arousal.

“You’re so pretty like this,” he said, sucking at Raleigh’s neck under his ear and then moving up to nibble at his earlobe. “Missed this, over the last week. Kept thinking of how good it was finally be, when I finally got my hands on you.” He moaned, hips starting to lose their rhythm. “Worth waiting for.”

 

“You too, Chuck,” Raleigh said, and Chuck’s hand was stroking him faster. He hitched his hips into it. “I’m gonna...I’m so close, Chuck,” he bit at his lower lip and groaned, then kissed Chuck hard before sliding over to suck on his ear lobe, just as Chuck had done for him. “You feel so amazing, I…” his breath hitched, and Chuck was this big, pleasant weight over top of him and he felt safe and secure and also...he was Chuck’s, possessed, held, and it was so fucking good.

Warmth pooled and tightened and his cock was leaking with need. “Chuck, I-”

 

“Yeah, yeah, love,” Chuck said, pumping his wrist steadily, twisting it so precome slicked their cockheads. “Yeah, fucking come for me, sweetheart, I wanna feel it, wanna see you.” He had to kiss Raleigh, at that moment, had to feel those lips on his, feel so close to him they may as well have been fused together.

 

Raleigh kissed him, hard, whispered. “Now, now, Chuck,” and then pulled away from him, arched his back so Chuck could see his face as his eyelids fluttered and his mouth and jaw worked. His orgasm was consuming and bright, sending a gorgeous shiver down to the tips of fingers and toes. “Chuuuuck,” he groaned, then latched himself onto Chuck’s neck as Chuck came as well, spilling even more between the two of them.

He pulled Chuck sideways and curled into him. “Gonna have to snuggle tonight, babe,” he murmured. “Bed’s pretty small.” He still felt warm all over, contented - like a dog that had just got a good belly scratch. “You’re amazing,” he said.

 

“You are…” Chuck said, and combed his fingers through Raleigh’s hair as he tried to come up with the words. But how - how could he possibly -

He kissed Raleigh’s forehead, and smiled at him, probably goopy and mushy and lovesick, but, well, who the fuck cared. “You are my favorite Becket, and also my favorite Raleigh, and also my… favorite.” He ducked his head, pressing it into Raleigh’s neck. Okay, he cared a little bit, and that was just… teeth-rottingly sweet, ugh.

 

Raleigh sighed as Chuck combed his hair - his weakness. Didn’t matter. He was comfortable and content, well spent from the orgasm, taken care of. He could lay like this forever.

He kissed Chuck on the lips and nuzzled his nose. “You’re my favorite too,” he said.

 

Chuck grinned. “Yeah,” he said. “I know.”

Fuck what anyone else thought. Fuck everyone who was so sure he was gonna mess everything up. As far as he could tell, he was doing just fine.

 

Raleigh laughed and smiled. They were good, he thought - they had talked. They had fucked, and it was...they were good, and they were going to be good.

**Author's Note:**

> come say hi and/or ask questions on tumblr, fyi. [mine](http://achilleees.tumblr.com/) or [hers](http://snack-size.tumblr.com/), either one.


End file.
